The Avalon Saga Part I: Faceless & Unknown
by Caradoc Rhys
Summary: In the 8 years that have passed since Voldemort's fall, the world has enjoyed relative peace. An ancient secret order now threatens that peace worldwide. Harry, along with companions new and old, will find that this new foe will not be easily defeated.
1. 00: Prologue

Prologue I: An Unknown Encounter **(Updated 3/12/2014)**

September 2, 1998 (4 months after the defeat of Lord Voldemort)

The ramshackle house sat unlit and dark. A half egg of a moon was nestled behind the clouds. This particular house had seen no visitors since the Dark Lord's war. But tonight, its peace was to be broken. A man wrapped in a cloak, hiding his face from view, strode very purposefully up to the shack. His long stride carried him quickly around to the backside of the house away from prying eyes. The man pulled out a white wand and began drawing a rectangle along the wall, while muttering words under his breath. When he was finished speaking, a wooden door appeared out of the wall. The man quickly opened it and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Turning he repeated his motions and muttered some additional words and the door disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind a solid wall.

The man paused and lowered his hood to his shoulders, setting loose a curly mane of reddish-brown hair that flowed down onto and over his shoulders. A matching thick beard covered his square-jawed face. His yellowed blue eyes glanced around the room as if looking for anything out of place. Apparently seeing nothing wrong, he removed the cloak and tossed it onto a nearby chair. A whimper like sound came from the floor above. Other than some light coming from the down the stairs the room was completely dark. Striding purposefully again, he set up the creaky stairs.

Reaching the top and walking through the doorway he came upon a huge blond pale skinned man in a chair. The man was obviously not a guest as he was tied securely to his chair and looked considerably uncomfortable. The man's eyes revealed his terror as he looked at this new arrival to the dingy room. His face bore multiple deep lacerations, one of which was still bleeding. Two other men stood in the room, along with a squat figure that could have passed for a child if it were not so obviously inhuman. The goblin glanced to the man entering the room and showed a toothy grin on his face. At this, the entering man broke the silence.

"Fanghurst, you haven't been using goblin interrogation methods again, I hope?" The goblin merely gave a larger smile at this.

"He's yet to pull out any of the particularly fun tricks. You have managed to procure some Veritaserum, I hope Rod?" inquired one of the two other men in the small room with similarly hued hair & thin beard though with streaks of grey. Rod halted in front of their prisoner and nodded, pulling out a small vial of the truth serum and handed it to the man who spoke. The older man proceeded to force the serum down their captive's throat. After the obligatory wait, the captive's eyes glazed over, signaling that the serum had taken effect.

"Now, Thorfinn Rowle isn't it?" The man called Rod asked the man in chair who merely nodded, seemingly unable to use his voice. "I believe I asked you a question, and I expect a worded answer," Rod growled.

"Hold on, we silenced him a while back so he would shut up and quick begging us for his life," interjected the other man in the room. He stood a bit shorter than the others, but bore much darker skin. He waved the gnarled walking staff in his hand. At this, the large pale man's fearful breathing became very audible.

"Now, the answer to my question, or I'll give you another set of marks on your right to even you out," barked the reddish-brown haired Rod, returning his attention to large man in the chair. "I want an answer!"

"Y-y-yes," answered the tied man, trying to stop his mouth from admitting that he was Thorfinn Rowle, but failing due to the serum's effects.

"Well now that we've established that you are indeed another one of Voldemort's bastard followers, perhaps could tell of the whereabouts of your fellow bastard, _Fenrir Greyback_," a venomous tone came to his voice at the mentioning of the name.

"I don't know where he is," the now identified Rowle spat defiantly back at Rod. Rod let out a beastlike roar of fury and slashed his hand down the unscathed side of Rowle's face. Rowle let out a howl of pain as he now had several deep furrows to match his other cheek, as Rod had promised earlier. The other two men quickly grabbed Rod and restrained from going at Rowle again. Fanghurst merely looked on with a sinister looking smile on his face.

"Rod, control yourself! He can't answer questions if he's dead and he can't lie under the serum," shouted the bearded man.

Still being restrained, Rod shouted, "You worthless piece of Death Eater trash, do you at least know who he might be with?"

"He's been with Antonin Dolohov," replied Rowle. His voice was filled with a mixture of pain and a bit of hope that this wouldn't anger Rod further.

"Where?"

"They were in the Ukraine, last I knew."

"Anything else?"

"N-no, I don't know anymore about them."

"Bart, knock this piece of shit out so we can talk freely." The older man responded by pulling a wand and casting a quick stunner on the Death Eater. When finished, he replaced his wand and looked to Rod expectantly. "Both of the filthy fuckers are together again! Seems now that their precious Voldemort is dead _again,_ they've returned to working together again. This should make finding them all the easier with the bloody trail they're bound to leave behind. But what the hell are we supposed to do with this worthless mess?" Rod gestured towards the unconscious death eater. "I'm all for just killing him, he is a marked Death Eater after all. But I know you might think differently?"

"The Ministry's still paying 2,000 galleons a head for any marked Death Eater turned in alive. They're thankful for dead ones, but there isn't any money in it. The money might be enough to keep Shadows off our back. He'll already be bloody pissed at us as it is for taking a detour in our mission here in the first place."

"Yes, let's hand him over to the _ministry_," the dark man spoke up with a sarcastic tone of voice. "They've done such a fine job collaring Death Eaters. Hell, those kids did a better job of cleaning up than the Ministry did. Remember what happened with Rookwood? Without us or those kids the Ministry never would have gotten him in the first place and we then had to get the bastard back _twice_. Admittedly, he'll find it a bit difficult to try and run again." He bore a slight smirk at his statement to which the other men let out muted laughs, while Fanghurst grinned.

"I would happily agree with you, Orenda, but Bart's right. And we don't have anything else we can do with him other than just kill him. We'll just hand Rowle's ass over to the Ministry and get back on what we're actually supposed to be doing here. Then we'll get back with Shadows and go check out the Ukraine when we can and see what we can find. The sooner we can get there, the better."

The others muttered their assent and began clearing out of the room. The goblin began placing various wicked looking goblin torture tools (none had been used, but were simply pulled out to scare the captive, at least this time) into a sack and Orenda began levitating Rowle's bulky frame down the stairs. Bart pulled Rod aside as the others walked out of the room. "I need to go inform Minerva that it was just us here, so if any report gets out, she won't worry about the students." Pausing briefly, he added "With this information, we're closer to finding him since we lost him after our little encounter during the holidays last year. We might finally be able to catch up to him and end this."

At his words, Rod's face took on a look of cold determination. With no emotion in his voice, he replied, "There's no way he's getting away. Nothing is going to keep me from him." At this he straightened and briskly walked down the stairs disappearing from Bart's sight.

"Rod!" Rod reappeared in the doorway. "You should come with me; she's been worried since he died."

"I don't want anyone's pity. I'll be fucking fine." Softening his tone, he added, "But do tell her hello from me." He turned and disappeared back down the stairs.

"Revenge is a poor motive for life. I only hope he can see that before it's too late." He knew that Rod was out earshot, but simply wanted to voice his concern. Bart sighed and waving his wand and with a quick incantation "Nox," extinguished the floating lights and followed Rod's path down the stairs, but took the passageway to Hogwarts instead. As its other visitors popped out of existence, the Shrieking Shack stood alone once again, its recent events adding to its legend of the most haunted building in Britain.

* * *

><p>Prologue II: Life After Hogwarts<p>

June 18, 2001 - 3 years later

Harry Potter stretched as he awoke in his bed at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. His head was aching. He groaned as he thought about what today was. It was going to a long day. He'd never really liked celebrations or ceremonies and today was the graduation day from the Auror Academy. Several other DA members, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas & Michael Corner specifically, would be graduating as well. During training they had been split into groups of 5 to simulate what it would be like in the field with their teams. The four DA members and Draco Malfoy had been placed together and had performed admirably, finishing at the top of their class. They had gained a nickname "The Ridgebacks" after soundly defeating the other teams in an early group training mission. At first, working with Draco was difficult due to their past bitterness, but 2 weeks in it was mutually decided to start fresh and things had looked up since. Draco Malfoy was one of the last people that Harry or Ron had ever thought they would end up being friends with and had even less expected him to become an Auror. Though calling him a friend might not be quite the right word.

Tonight, all their hard work would be rewarded by being issued their Auror licenses. Due to the famous nature of some of the graduates, this year's ceremony would be invitation only. All of the Auror trainee's families were automatically welcomed, and each graduate was allowed to invite four guests. Harry had chosen to invite Hermione's parents, Will & Anna Granger (Hermione had been invited by Ron). Will had become somewhat of mentor to Harry, when Will found that the Auror training was very similar to his own military experience. He had been in the British Army for a time and was more than willing to lend an understanding ear to Harry's frustrations with the training. Upon hearing of the physical requirements, Will had invited Harry to join him in his morning 5 mile run. The time together had brought the two men into a closer relationship and provided Harry a much needed father figure. His 3rd and 4th invites would surprise most, Dudley Dursley and his wife Merry. Since coming back out of hiding after the war, Dudley had been overtly active in building a true relation with Harry. Dudley had finally grown up and wasn't willing to be a git like his father, Vernon. He had also shown quite a talent at boxing, as he was currently the Heavyweight champion of Europe. Dudley had been ecstatic when Harry had asked to include him & his wife among his guests.

_How things have changed and yet are still the same. _Harry could remember a day when he didn't know if he would even have a future, let alone the people that would be involved in it. His friends, old & new had been there for him when he truly needed them, even when he tried to push them away. He had come to realize that without them, especially Ron and Hermione, he never would have survived the war.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Harry rose from his bed and plodded into the bathroom adjoining his room and began his morning routine. Emerging from the room freshly showered and shaven, he pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans. The dress clothes could wait until that afternoon. Pausing for a moment, he grabbed his wand & its wrist holster, strapping it on. He rarely went anywhere without his wand even after defeating Voldemort. He headed down the stairs to the kitchen to find Kreacher waiting for him with a massive breakfast on the table. Harry noticed that the table was set for four instead of the usual two, himself and Kreacher. He had insisted that the aged house-elf join him for meals. The house-elf had at first resisted but then relented at his master's insistence. Harry gave Kreacher a questioning look, nodding his heads at the extra settings and food.

"I must remind you that your friends, Ron and Hermione are coming for breakfast, since it seems that you have forgotten, Harry," spoke Kreacher in his deep voice. Another thing that Harry had insisted on was that instead of master or sir, he simply should be called Harry. He had also insisted that the house-elf educate himself and Kreacher's speaking had greatly improved as result. Harry had learned that Kreacher actually had a vast store of knowledge; he just hadn't had any grammar schooling to communicate that knowledge with.

"I had forgotten completely. Thanks, Kreacher for remembering and taking care of the food." At Harry's words, Kreacher's wrinkled face broke into a smile. Harry was extremely thankful for the house-elf remembering his inebriated invitation to Ron and Hermione the night before. There had been an impromptu celebration that night to celebrate the Ridgeback's successfully coming in at the top of their class. Friends were invited and the alcohol started to flow. Harry typically wasn't much of a drinker but that night, he had been convinced to cut loose by the most unlikely of sources, Hermione.

* * *

><p>The Night Before<p>

"_Harry, you've got to loosen up sum times and just have fun," Hermione's words were already becoming slightly slurred. The party had been going for a while and Ginny had convinced Hermione to do several shots with her. She grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey off of the table and poured a glass, and then forced it into my hands. "Drink."_

_I glanced at my somewhat inebriated best friend. She had let down bushy hair out of the ponytail she usually kept it in and the curls were cascading all over place. I've always loved that her hair is just as uncontrollable as mine. Her brown eyes met mine and she smiled mischievously. _

"_Who are you, and what have you done with Ms. Perfect Hermione?" I joked at her. She just smiled more and nodded at the glass in my hands. I relented and drank down the burning liquid. Hermione refilled it and forced me to repeat the action 2 more times before she would let me alone about it. Feeling a bit buzzed, I willing consented to the drinking of more. Hermione and I chatted about what had gone on in our lives for the last 2 years. _

_She had been away to Manone University, a mastery school in America, where she had, of course, excelled. Hermione had finished what was supposed to be a 3 year program in 2 years with 5 masteries. Even though this was an unheard of feat, in typical Hermione fashion she was surprised at everyone's congratulations to her. She would soon be assuming a post as an Unspeakable researcher for the Department of Mysteries. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that she didn't realize her own brilliance. I laughed at one of her Uni stories and at that point Ron wandered over and clapped a hand to my back, causing me to about spill my drink._

"_Can you believe it, Harry, we're about to officially become Aurors!" Ron was his usually boisterous self. I smiled at my best friend and nodded. "Here's to the best damn recruits there's ever been, The Ridgebacks!" Ron raised his glass as he shouted it out to the room._

"_The Ridgebacks!" The reply came from throughout the room. Everyone, including me, then proceeded to drain their glasses and then go about getting them refilled. As I sat down my glass, Ron took a seat beside Hermione. He whispered something into Hermione's ear and looking at me she giggled. I raised an eyebrow, which just caused her to giggle a little more. Hermione tended to get giggly with a little bit of alcohol in her. The three of us fell into our old conversation mode of talking about anything and everything. It felt good to be enjoying the easy camaraderie of my two best friends._

_Amazingly out of the three of us, by midnight Ron was the only one sober enough to walk steadily. Everyone had gone on home and Hermione and I had collapsed in a pile on the couch. She was looking at me with glazed over eyes. When I met her gaze she began to giggle. I gave a start as the clock gonged out its chime to signal midnight, and Ron offered a hand to Hermione, lifting her up off the couch. She stood unsteadily and promptly fell down on top of me when Ron let go of her._

"_I love you," she said staring into my eyes and giving me one of her patented bone-crushing Hermione hugs. I returned the hug and gently pushed her back up. Ron put her arm over his shoulders to steady her._

"_All right come on you, let's get you home," Ron said smiling at Hermione's state. She giggled at this._

"_How about we do breakfast tomorrow? Right here at Grimmauld." I inquired. It had been a while since the three of us had gotten together for anything._

"_Sure, Harry. Sounds like a good idea."_

"_I wood lub too." Hermione slurred back to me._

"_We'll see you then," Ron said as he half walked, half carried Hermione out the door._

* * *

><p>A sudden noise from the parlor brought Harry out of his reverie. Harry took his place at the table and waited for his two best friends. He smiled as he heard Hermione admonish Ron for his lack of grace, as he had apparently knocked her down coming through the floo.<p>

"I didn't bloody well know you'd be trying to floo through at the same time I was," Ron grumbled back at her admonishment. Harry smiled as his two best friends came into the room, still grumbling at one another. Upon seeing Harry, Hermione ran up to him and gave him one of her patented bone-crushing hugs.

"So what's Kreacher cooked up this time?" Ron asked as he walked settled into his seat. His eyes lit up when he saw the veritable feast that Kreacher had whipped up for them. Ron promptly sat down and began to fill his plate. Hermione and Harry joined him. "This is absolutely amazing, Kreacher." Ron complimented after taking a bite of his omelet. At this, the elf took his seat with a happy grin on his wrinkled face. Ron continued devouring his food and was refilling his plate by the time Harry or Hermione had gotten half way. The three friends made their usual chatter as they ate. When they had finished Harry and Ron grabbed cups of coffee and retired to the sitting room. Hermione stayed in the kitchen to help clean up and chat with Kreacher. After they sat Harry cleared his throat and decided on using the patented-Gryffindordirect approach to what he had noticed the prior night.

"So what's with you and Luna?" He blurted out. Ron looked dumbfoundedly at Harry. His look then shifted to a sly grin. "I saw you speaking primarily to Luna last night. Finding a girl, Weasley?" Ron and Hermione had started dating in the aftermath of the war but had found that their personalities clashed too much and mutually broke things off during Hermione's first year of mastery school. They had split on good terms and though things were a bit awkward for a bit, they soon settled back into their best friend roles. Ron had had a few girlfriends since but none that lasted more than a few weeks.

"Well, what would you say if I told you we had a date last Friday night? And another, this Friday," Ron replied to Harry's questioning.

"She's a good fit for you, Weasley." Lifting his coffee, he saluted his best friend. "I hope the best for the both of you. Who would have thought? Our ickle Ronniekins and Loony Lovegood together." Ron gave Harry his own two-fingered salute in return, but laughed right along with Harry. At this moment, Hermione came into the room carrying her mug of tea. Hermione had never been much for coffee, though she did drink it during her time at uni but that was mostly due to her schedule and that coffee was far more readily available in America. Having caught the end of Harry's ribbing of Ron, she was laughing as well. She sat down between the boys and joined in the good natured ribbing of Ron about Luna.

Ron had matured a lot throughout the aftermath of the war, especially since Ron had moved out the Burrow and taken up residence in a London flat. He had also finally come to an understanding about why Harry didn't want his enormous fame since becoming famous himself after the war. He himself had gone through the unwanted attention Particularly with people trying to go through him to get to Harry. Over time, he'd learned that being famous wasn't all that he'd originally thought it to be.

With a glance at the clock, Hermione gave a start. "Look at the time. I need to go get my parents. Being muggles they can't get into the ministry by themselves. I'll see you two at the graduation ceremony at noon. Bye!" She swooped in to give Ron and Harry both a quick hug then headed off to the fireplace to floo out.

"I've got to get going too. I'm supposed to meet Luna at eleven and get ready for the ceremony myself. Bloody dress robes." He clapped Harry on the back and followed Hermione's earlier path. Harry leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. He had the two best friends in the world. They'd gone through so much those last few years of the war, events that had strained and almost destroyed their friendship, though after making it through the war it was stronger than ever.

Harry proceeded back upstairs to get into his dress robes. After putting on his formal robes, he decided on showing early to the ceremony. He headed down to the floo and holding a handful of powder called out, "Auror Headquarters."

He disappeared in a burst of green flame and reappeared, stumbling into Auror HQ out of the floo fireplace. Kingsley Shacklebolt, current Minister for Magic, was standing on the other side of the small entry room talking earnestly to a man Harry didn't know. The man was rather tall, standing considerably taller than the Minister, with long shaggy russet-colored hair with some slight streaks of grey. He probably stood at tad taller than 6 and half feet tall by Harry's estimate. He was rather lanky, but he held himself with a confident air. Something seemed familiar about the man, but he couldn't quite place it. Seeing Harry, Kingsley broke away from the man and came over to greet Harry.

"Let me be the first to congratulate you, Harry," shaking Harry's hand, then forgoing it and pulling Harry into a manly hug. "I've watched as you've grown and now you've graduated at the top of your Auror class. Your parents would be proud," stating his last sentence as a quiet whisper.

"Thank you, Minister," Harry replied respectfully. Seeing Harry's glance at the tall man in the room, Kingsley ushered him over.

"You might remember Bart Rise. He's here from the American Magical Republic. He was in and out of headquarters quite often during your time in Auror training. We used his lesson plans for all of the physical aspects of your training, such as the Hand-to-hand combat, general fitness and the like. You'll learn more about why he's here in a few minutes."

"It's good to meetcha, Harry." The man, Bart, and Harry exchanged handshakes. Harry noticed that unlike most wizards, Bart didn't say a word about Harry's exploits or even try to get a look at his scar.

"Same here, Bart. And I do remember seeing you a couple of times outside the training room. I just figured you were another bureaucrat checking in on us." Harry still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met Bart before, but couldn't remember when or where just that it definitely wasn't at the ministry. "By the way, I must say that your lessons were excellent," At Harry's compliment, Bart smiled slightly.

"Good thing ya enjoyed them. As ya'll see soon, that even though your training officially is over, Aurors never truly stop training," Bart responded. Harry noticed his accent seemed familiar somehow but he couldn't place it. It didn't sound like any of the American dialects he had heard.

"Well, it was good to meet you, but I need to go to the entrance so I can get my cousin in," Harry said. Quickly he added "He's a muggle so he can't get in by himself." Bart added a "Likewise" and Harry nodded to the two men and headed off towards the entrance. As he was walking, he was given congratulations by several senior Auror staff members who were milling about, some preparing for and others waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin. Pausing only long enough to say thank-you, Harry continued on his way. Reaching the doors he pushed them open and stepped outside into the warm June air. Glancing around, he saw that Dudley had yet to arrive. Harry settled himself onto a bench and let his thoughts drift.

His thoughts touched on the events since that fateful day when he had found that he was wizard and that he was famous for something he couldn't even remember. He remembered how people that he'd never met would act as though he had done something of significance, though in reality it was mother's sacrifice that stopped Voldemort that day. His thoughts turned to Hogwarts and the memories that were held within those walls. From fighting off a Voldemort-possessed Quirrell in first year, slaying a Basilisk and destroying Riddle's memory second year, to rescuing Sirius and learning the truth of Peter's betrayal in the third, to the challenges of the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort's return in fourth year, the department of mysteries battle and losing Sirius in his fifth, and to the turmoil of relationships and Dumbledore's death that was sixth year. There was also the battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's death in what should have been his seventh year.

His actual seventh year had been a considerably different experience, since that for once in his life, there was no looming dark wizard whom only he could defeat. Voldemort was gone forever, never to rise again. Granted, there were still dark wizards out there, or else his becoming an Auror would be pointless, but most were relatively tame when compared to Voldemort. That year he had been able to simply be Harry Potter, without any of the pressures. Sure the Daily Prophet made a media circus but McGonagall, in her new capacity as headmistress, had staunchly made sure that no member of the press got through the gates. McGonagall had also made the decision to allow any student who wished to repeat (or actually attend in the case of the muggleborns) their respective year would be allowed to with their grades replacing the previous years. Mostly those in the OWLs or NEWTs years chose to repeat since those were really the only grades that truly affected one's course in life.

That year, there had been no mystery to solve (other than him, Ron and every other male trying to figure out girls), no horcruxes to find, no looming threats of any kind at all. Harry viewed it as the best year of his life. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, himself and the other students who returned were able to simply be teenagers after going through a war.

Then there was Ginny. Looking back he realized that it had been a mistake even at the beginning. He guessed that amidst all the confusion and excitement surrounding the fall of Voldemort, he wasn't really in tune with what he was feeling. The two had dated and had had a somewhat whirlwind relationship. After spending a week at Dudley's new place after Christmas (Dudley had moved out from under Vernon's roof as soon as humanly possible, the two could no longer tolerate the other's presence) and being separated from Ginny, he realized something. He didn't love Ginny. He realized he would always see her as a sister and that was all. Having no one else to talk to, he turned to Dudley. Once Dudley had gotten over his initial shock at being taken into Harry's confidence, he simply told Harry to tell her the truth. As if it was that easy.

He had mulled it over, and during the first week back from the holidays, he had told Ginny how he really felt. He hadn't had the presence of mind to do it somewhere private and had told her in the Gryffindor common room. That had been a mistake and half. Not only did he get a dose of the Weasley temper from Ginny, her yells brought Ron who quickly became yet another angry Weasley. What resulted was a row that would be a lasting legend amongst the house of Gryffindor. For the rest of the year he hardly spoke two words to Ginny. Ron, while angry for a while, had surprisingly reconciled with Harry saying that it was better than Harry leading his sister on. Harry suspected Hermione's influence must have had something to do with this and he was grateful to her.

"Oi, Harry! How are you, you scrawny little bastard?" the raucous voice startled Harry, as he had become preoccupied with his thoughts. Smiling he stood and responded in like manner.

"I was fine up until your fat arse showed up," he quipped back. His cousin responded with a boisterous laughter, and then bounding up the steps with a grace that defied his bulk, crushed Harry in bear hug. Looking over Dudley's shoulder after he was released, he saw a pretty blonde woman following up the stairs shaking her head at the two's antics.

"I can't go anywhere in public with you two, can I?" the woman admonished. Smiling she pulled Harry into a friendly hug.

"And how are you, my beautiful Merry? Let's leave this no-good sod of husband of yours and run off together," He teased her.

"That'd be my wife you're flirting with Potter, better watch yourself," Dudley gave a grin as he teasingly punched Harry in the arm. Harry smiled in response and gesturing he led the two of them into the building. The outside of the building had been carefully disguised as a dilapidated old manor which had lain empty for several years.

In reality, the building was much smaller on the outside than the interior which had magically been enlarged. A tall fence kept it away from prying eyes and all the windows and doors were boarded over but charmed on the inside to give an outside view of surrounding London. Harry suspected that some considerable magic had been put in play, since this outside entrance was over a mile away from where the HQ was physically located on the second floor of the Ministry. Merry let out a small gasp when she saw that the corridor they entered seemed to stretch on forever.

"Welcome to Auror Headquarters. It's been magically enlarged and disguised on the outside so as not to be suspicious to muggles." Harry added the latter for Merry's benefit. "Where's Jr. at today?"

"Oh we dropped him off at Merry's mum and dad's. They were more than happy to take their grandchild in for a day of spoiling. They also invited mum there as well." At this, Harry noticed a brief grimace pass across Dudley's face.

Seeing this he asked, "So, things still aren't any better with your dad then?"

"Mum's tried to get him to come around but the old git's too stubborn and set in his ways to listen. I doubt we'll ever get along well again." Seeing his cousin's look, he added "But don't go thinking this is your fault, Harry. I did what I had to. And frankly if Vernon can't get his head out of his arse, then he can bugger off for all I care." Vernon had exploded when he found out that Dudley and Harry had become friendly and that Dudley was willing to accept Harry. Petunia had tried and tried to amend things between the two, but it seemed to be a lost cause. Thankfully for Petunia's sake, Merry's mum and dad were known acquaintances of Petunia's, who had, with their children's relationship, become good friends with her. Otherwise, she would probably never see her grandchild.

The three continued to chat and catch up with each other's lives as they walked along. Reaching the chambers, Harry glanced in to see if Hermione and her parents had arrived. Spotting them, he motioned for Dudley and his wife to follow and set off in their direction. Hermione brightened when she spotted him and pulling her parents along came over to meet him.

Receiving his second Hermione hug of the day, he joked "If you keep doing that, I think I'm going to have visit St. Mungo's for bruised ribs." He flashed her one of his own trademark lop-sided grins. Turning to greet Will and Anna, he received a hearty handshake hug and the hug of another Granger woman, albeit of a more gentle nature than Hermione's. "This is my cousin, Dudley Dursley & his wife, Merry. Dudley & Merry, this is Will and Anna Granger, Hermione's parents." Greetings and small talk were made until Hermione pulled Harry aside for a moment.

"Can I talk to you alone for a second?" Hermione asked, even though she was physically dragging him anyways.

"Anytime, Hermione. You know that."

"Well, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you and proud that you've chosen to make something of your life. I mean with your inheritance from your parents & then from Sirius, you really never would have needed to work for the rest of your life. And well, I just wanted to say that…" she paused for a moment, but was then interrupted by the arrival of several other graduates. Michael Corner & Dean Thomas shouted hellos to Harry and then crossed the room to greet him. Hermione had a brief look of annoyance flash across her eyes but simply whispered "Later" to Harry, and turned to greet the two men.

Dean had continued to grow and now stood about a head and half taller than Harry. The dark skinned man clapped Harry heartily on the back then turned to say hello to Hermione. Michael, who had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, stood slightly shorter than Harry with a similar slim build. His long dark hair contrasted with his pale skin. Typically, he was quite reserved, but today his face bore a smile. Seeing Hermione engaging Dean in conversation, Harry did similarly with Michael.

"How's it feel to be about an hour away from officially joining the Auror Corps?" questioned Harry. He already knew the answer, as Michael's smile said it all.

"Bloody amazing and relieving all at the same time. I might finally be able to put a coherent thought together without analyzing it first for combat strategies." The two shared a laugh at this. Dean and Hermione turned to join the conversation. Harry noticed that Hermione bore a satisfied smile on her face. _I wonder what that's about?_ He decided he would ask later, if he saw need to.

Greeting Michael, Hermione inquired "How's Cho?"

"Well, she's doing well and she should be arriving here soon." Michael and Cho's relationship was rather off-and-on. It seemed that many things set the girl off on a trail of memories that she didn't want to be reminded that she had.

"Well that's good, who else did you invite?"

"I also invited Cho's grandparents & Terry Boot. My folks will be here as well."

Dean spoke up, "I only invited Seamus Finnigan, Lee Jordan and Neville Longbottom as my extras. Although, Lee said he might be bringing Katie Bell along. It seems that they've officially began dating now."

The group continued to discuss their friends and invitations when a mass of red hair entered the room. About a dozen Weasleys had arrived to celebrate Ron's achievement. The patriarchs of the Weasley clan, Arthur and Molly led the way. Ron was walking alongside his father chatting. George & his wife Angelina (formerly Johnson) followed. George was carrying their young son, Fred II on his shoulders. Bill & Fleur came next with their daughter Victoire between them. Charlie and Tia, his wife of three months followed, with Percy & his wife Penelope (formerly Clearwater) close behind. Ending the redheaded procession was Ginny & her current beau, who would have angered many in this room merely with his presence during their Hogwarts years. It was none other than Draco Malfoy.

During the aftermath of what was now labeled the Battle of Hogwarts, he and his father had a row that was on par with even Weasley standards. Draco, though somewhat grudgingly, had openly acknowledged his wizard life debt to Harry and had offered and given his help in gathering the dead, and the general repair and cleaning of the castle. Lucius saw this as beneath a Malfoy, and telling his son as much, the row had erupted. Suffice to say, Draco had lost any and all respect for his father due to his recent behavior. Since then, Draco hadn't spoken a single word to his father, who now resided in Azkaban. Draco had been allowed to return to Hogwarts albeit on probationary status. Any incidents and he would be gone. Harry frankly had not recognized the Malfoy who had attended that year. He had kept completely to himself and never said a word to Harry or any of his other former targets for ridicule. He had apparently applied himself well since he did earn the necessary NEWTs for Auror training.

Being forced together at training, which Harry suspected might have been intentional on the part of Kingsley, they had managed to overcome many of their differences and, though they would never see eye-to-eye on everything, they could at least tolerate and be friendly to one another. During a slightly drunken night, Draco had revealed a lot of the reasons behind his actions during their sixth year. The biggest was that if he didn't do what Voldemort wanted, Voldemort would have his family killed. This revelation had helped to shift the team's opinion of Malfoy. Major proof of this shifting opinion was seen when Ron had not tried to harm Draco when he began dating Ginny, other than the standard big brother threat of what would happen if Draco hurt her.

The Weasley clan bustled over to Harry and company (with Molly and Arthur diverting to the Grangers). The area surrounding Harry was soon abuzz with congratulations and the start of conversations. In the midst of chatting with Bill about the current unrest among the goblins, Kingsley took the podium and pointing his wand to his throat, his amplified bass voice booming out across the crowd.

"If the graduates would come to the seats of honor in the front, we will soon get started." The Auror class began making their ways to the front while all the guests took their seats. A table stood in front of the podium with seating for twenty-five. This was actually a rather large Auror class compared to what had been normal since the First Wizarding War. Harry took his seat between Ron and Draco. The two other Ridgebacks, Dean and Michael sat across from Harry. Seeing Hermione give him & Ron a wave and a smile he responded in kind. Once all the graduates were seated and in place the Minister began.

"We are gathered here to acknowledge the accomplishments and achievements of a new generation of Aurors. Many among them already have experience in fighting dark wizards and have chosen to continue in this service as a career. I salute each and every one of you and can say that I am proud to have been a part of your training. Now may I introduce the current Head Auror, Raynard Williamson." Polite applause filled the room as the tall pony-tailed Head Auror took the podium.

"Thank-you, I will try to keep this brief" he began. "It is with great pleasure that I stand before you. Yet another group of recruits has endured the difficult and trying training designed to push them to their limits. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge those who had a hand in training these fine witches and wizards. Would Auror trainers Mick Bones, Argyle McKinnon, Thelma Owain and Patricia O'Reilly please stand?" Williamson paused and waited as the crowd applauded, the trainees being the most enthusiastic. Once the applause died down he continued.

"I would also like to acknowledge another individual here tonight and allow him to introduce himself. He was responsible for a good deal of the curriculum used for the physical aspects of training. I myself must say they are a vast improvement over the previous curriculum. The lessons were part of an Auror information exchange program we have started this year with the American Magical Republic." Several people murmured at this, since the Republic and the Ministry hadn't been eye-to-eye for a while. "It is my pleasure to introduce to you the now official American Magical Republic Auror Liaison, Bart Rise." The tall, russet haired man Harry had met earlier took the podium amongst the polite applause.

"Thank you for your kind words, Head Auror. Over the last two years, several of your British Aurors and several other American Aurors have been meeting to help improve relations and cooperation between our two divisions. As part of the effort, liaisons have been posted at both Headquarters. As I was stationed here in Britain during the first war with Voldemort, I will be here in London on behalf of the Republic, and Auror Murdock Savage has been posted as the Ministry's liaison to America. The goal is for the liaisons, who are both familiar with their home countries regulations, to be able to help cut through the red tape that often surrounds an international effort." Harry heard a mutter from Dean, along the lines of "about bloody time" at this.

"I will also be taking a newly created post here as the physical combat instructor here at the Auror Headquarters. All Auror physical training will subsequently be taken over by me and my assistant, Ambros Aksel, who is unable to be with us today, but will be arriving tonight. Thank you again for your time and I turn the stage back over to the Minister." More applause followed and Bart walked off the stage and reclaimed his seat. As Kingsley rose, he motioned to a band set up alongside to begin playing. They began with a quiet version the Ministry's anthem. The four Auror trainers also took the stage, standing alongside Kingsley. This was the cue for the graduates to rise and position themselves.

"As I was Head Auror Trainer, a position I held before becoming Minister and as a temporary for the last six months due to Auror Gawain Robards' illness, it is my honor to award the certificates to the graduates. I shall be giving the certificates by training group. Each of the training group teams have been given an identifier based on the groups attributes. Will the Green's please come forward." The Greens were a group of half-blood siblings, a set of older boy triplets and twin girls, which had ended up in the same graduating class due to Voldemort's takeover of Hogwarts. Mick Bones stepped forward to tell the audience a little about the Green's achievements. Harry heard him say something about investigation abilities. Harry's mind wandered as he stood with his group, who would be introduced last as they were the top of their class.

He looked at the boys…no men that stood around him. There was Ron, standing tall but fidgety. Dean's excitement was palpable, as the tall boy bounced back and forth on his heels. Michael was still smiling as he had earlier. Draco looked like he would much rather be elsewhere. Harry could identify in a way, although somewhat differently. The Malfoy name had become quite slanderous since Lucius's permanent residence had been changed to Azkaban. Since, then Draco had avoided any and all publicity that he could. Harry was of like thinking, of that he couldn't wait for this to get over. As he shuffled forward, he realized his group was the next to be introduced. Kingsley once again began speaking.

"Now I would like to take the opportunity to tell you a little about the next group. I, myself, have been this group's advisor in the absence of Auror Robard. These five young men have proven themselves to be among the best ever through the academy. The former numerical record was held by a group back in 1979 that went by the name of The Marauders. The members of that group were Fabian Prewett, Gideon Prewett, Raynard Williamson, James Potter, and myself." Harry did a double take at this information. _His father's group had held the record? He would need to talk to the minister about this. _"Their numerical score was a 98.5 on a 100 point scale. This group, who go by The Ridgebacks, scored an even 99, setting a new record." Several cheers went up amongst those who understood the significance of this information.

"The group's individual performances were also highly admirable. The Ridgebacks consists mostly of former Dumbledore's Army participants. All five of them had a part in the ending of the war with Voldemort." Harry noticed that several people still gasped at the mention of Voldemort's name. Kingsley continued without pause, "It gives me pleasure to introduce to you, at the top of their class, The Ridgebacks. First, Ron Weasley." A raucous roar of Weasley origin rang out as Ron walked forward to receive his certificate.

"Michael Corner." Less applause was given than Ron's, but most everyone at least politely clapped. The Weasleys gave a good effort all the same, but they would for anyone deserving of it.

"Draco Malfoy." A large part of the audience sat still at the mention of the name, but now that the Weasleys had accepted him they gave another roar of approval. Harry noticed Molly staring down those who didn't applaud. He also noted that Narcissa was not present in the audience.

"Dean Thomas." Once again, less applause, especially since Dean no longer had any magical family to speak of. Dean's step-father, Seamus and Dean's half-brother let out a boisterous yell of approval for Dean.

"Harry Potter." The entirety of the room burst into applause. Harry was slightly chuffed at the fact that some of those cheering loudly didn't even know him. He didn't mind the Weasleys, Grangers, or the other families he knew that were cheering, it was more the Ministry officials who had hardly acknowledged the others' achievements. Glancing to his side, he noticed that Bart simply applauded as anyone would for a stranger. Harry made a note of this, thinking that Bart might be worth getting to know in the next few years, as he seemed to unaffected by who Harry was.

Harry walked to Kingsley and shaking his hand, received his Auror certificate and joined the rest of the class on the platform. Two cameramen made move to get pictures of the graduating class. Thankfully they were Ministry employed record-keepers, not the press who had long been banned from Auror proceedings such as this.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the Auror Academy Class of 2001!" Kingsley stepped back from the podium, and bearing a proud smile, applauded the graduates. Rising from their seats, the other attendees did likewise. After the applause died down, Kingsley dismissed the now-Rookie Aurors to their families and guests.

"Let the celebration begin!" At the Minister's pronouncement, various arrays of food and tables appeared, the previous chairs being cleared away. The band struck up a dinner-atmosphere number. Harry heard a whoop from Ron, when he spotted the food. Harry settled down at a table next to Hermione. Others at the table included Will and Anna Granger, Dudley and Merry Dursley, along with Bill and Fleur. Fleur, Anna, and Merry had struck up an engaged conversation, while their husbands ate and shared knowing looks. Dudley had almost finished a plate in the short time it took Harry to go from the stage to his seat.

"Not planning on losing any weight any time soon, are we Dudders?" he joked.

"When have you ever known my fat arse to deny free food? Hell, besides I need to stay big anyways so I can continue beating the shite out of you."

"That's if you can catch me, you mean." The two older men at the table had been observing the conversation and burst out laughing. Harry and Dudley joined in kind.

"Men. You'd think they hated each other by the way they talked," Merry admonished. The other women shared a laugh and conversation began flowing. In the midst of a table-wide discussion about current events, they were interrupted by a loud banging noise. It was, of course, courtesy of one George Weasley. Standing atop a table, he had just let off a small sample of Weasleys' Wizard Wheeze's Wildfire Whizbang fireworks. Pointing his wand to his throat and utilizing a Sonorous charm he addressed the crowd.

"I propose a toast to all the fine Aurors here, but especially to my friends, The Ridgebacks. Ron, Harry, Dean, Michael, Hell, even you, Draco, may you all grow old and fat! To the Ridgebacks!" He lifted his glass and drained it accordingly. All around the room, others followed suit some accompanied by chuckles at George's antics. Harry joined them downing the champagne. Harry noticed at this point that the music had changed. If he wasn't mistaken it was muggle music that was playing, something about a voodoo child and saying one more last thing.

"Bloody hell! I didn't realize you magic-types would appreciate Hendrix." Will Granger bore a smile on his face. "I remember going to one of his shows back in my younger years."

"Wish I could have been there. Hell, I even figured he must have been a wizard the way he played a guitar." Dudley responded to Will's comment. At this Hermione spoke up.

"As far as I know-"

"You would," Harry spoke quietly, but loud enough that she could hear. She responded by placing a punch into his arm. He winced in mock pain (though he really did feel it, the girl could throw a punch) in response.

"As I was saying, I'm pretty sure that Hendrix was just a muggle. On the other hand, there are magical singers such Edgar and Johnny Winter, the whole of Jethro Tull are either squibs or wizards and another famous singer/songwriter, Warren Zevon, was a werewolf. I could name several more, but I'm sure I've made my point. Wizards are plenty involved in muggle music. I personally don't care that much for wizard music other than the occasional Weird Sisters song. I'd rather listen to a good soft rock song or a bit of blues."

"I don't remember you ever liking blues before, is that something you picked up at Manone?" Hermione's mum inquired.

"I was introduced to it by one of the physical fitness instructors there. Speaking of, I noticed that Bart looks exceedingly like him."

Harry glanced up to see Bart heading their way. He noticed the ease that the man seemed to move and interact with those around him with, briefly stopping to chat and just as quickly moving on. Reaching their table, Harry could see that the smile on his face was genuine, though Bart's blue eyes betrayed weariness of the formalities. Harry thought he noticed a hint of sadness there. At a closer look he noticed that the whites of Bart's eyes seemed to be more of a yellow in color rather than white.

"I figured I'd go around and make myself known to everyone. You all are gonna haveta to put up with me for awhile anyways. Now who all do we have here, eh?" Harry went around the table making introductions. Harry noticed a thoughtful look pass Bart's face when he introduced Hermione.

"Excuse me, Bart?" Hermione asked.

"Ya, whatcha need, eh?"

"By any chance are you from the U.P.?"

"The UP, What's that, honey?" Anna Granger spoke up, asking the question that everyone else wanted to know.

"She means the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan over in the US. And yes, I am from the area. The area's accent is rather unique, though mine's been tempered by spending a lot of time abroad." When he finished, a look of realization spread across his face. "Ah-ha. I thought your name sounded familiar. You attended the Manone Institute's mastery school these last couple years and I believe graduated this year didn'tcha, Hermione?"

"Yes, I did, but how'd you know that?"

"My nephew, Rod, is currently working with the Auror training institute that's part of the school. He's also one of the physical fitness instructors. He mentioned something of you to me a few times." With a mischevious smile he added, "Something about having to deal with a snooty & uptight British woman."

"Yes, that does sound like what he'd say. He truly can't resist taking a shot at anyone. The couple of physical fitness extracurriculars I took to keep in shape were taught by him. Coincidently, it had just occurred to me that you two bear a striking resemblance."

"We look alike if you consider the fact that he looks like a squashed down version of me, or me a stretched-out version of him. Which of his combat classes did you take?"

"Wait, you took physical combat classes, Hermione?" Harry asked at this new piece of information. No wonder her punch earlier had hurt as much as it had.

"Why, yes I did Harry. I might need such a thing with some of the work I'll be doing as an Unspeakable. And to answer your question, I took his Tai Kwan Do course, and a basic hand-to-hand self-defense course. I also was in a running class that he taught, well more like oversaw."

"I'll have to tell him I met you the next time I talk to him, which will probably be in the next week or so, since that's currently where Ambros is at anyways, though he's going to attempt to make it here tonight. So you're becoming an Unspeakable, eh?" Hermione nodded. "Then I'll be seeing more of you as well. New regulations require that any unspeakable doing field research will need to take part in some of the physical training. Not as much as Aurors, but enough that you all can take care of yourself. Well, I'm gonna continue wanderin' 'round. I'll see ya around, eh?" Bart gave a small wave of goodbye and moved on to the table full of Weasleys and soon was drawn into a jovial conversation with Arthur & his brood. Glancing around Harry spotted several other guests whom he knew. There was Lee Jordan with his now confirmed girlfriend Katie Bell, Cho Chang had shown and was sitting with Michael, Neville Longbottom was present and was currently engaging Seamus and Dean in conversation. Harry sighed inwardly at the knowledge that many of those present had lost much of their time to grow up normally, due to Voldemort. Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to the table and happened to notice Hermione's chocolate eyes looking at him.

"What's that about?" He asked her. "See something you like?" His tease brought a smile to her face.

"When did you get so conceited, Mr. Big-Bad-Auror?" she teased in response. The smile on her face faded into a more serious look. Harry saw that she had what he had taken to calling her business-only look. "Remember, when I started talking to you earlier? Do you think we could escape and finish that conversation?"

"I'd be more than willing. Let's go." Harry excused himself and headed out of the large chamber into the long hallway. Hermione followed him shortly behind. "Let's head outside. I could use the fresh air." The two friends walked in comfortable silence to the outside exit where Harry had met Dudley earlier that day. Stepping outside, he realized that more time had passed than he had thought. The sun was almost fully set; indicating that is was after nine o'clock. Looking at Hermione he asked, "Alright, so what's this about."

"Well, first I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you, Harry. Even though you don't need to, you've chosen to continue to help those who need it. You never could get over your saving-people thing could you?" The two shared a laugh at this. "I also wanted to talk to you about something else. While I was away at the Manone Insitute I realized just how much I missed being able to talk to you. Between my mastery theses and your Auror training we fell out of touch."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Hermione. We still saw each other during Holidays and the like. And we occasionally wrote letters."

"But we didn't talk Harry. Not like we always have. I guess I just missed being able to talk to you in person. And, well…, I wanted to get a promise from you if I could."

"Sure, Hermione. Ask away, you know I'd do anything for my best friend."

"Can you promise that no matter how busy we get that we'll get together on at least a monthly basis to talk?"

"Hermione, I would love too. And I guess you have a plan, like you always do. But, what about Ron?"

"I've already asked him and he agreed to do the same. It'll be just the three of us. The Golden Trio, as the Prophet's labeled us." Harry gave a brief grimace at the mention of the Daily Prophet. "I'm sorry, Harry I know how much you dislike the titles that the Prophet sees fit to heap on you."

"It's not your fault, Hermione. I just wish that for once I could simply be normal Harry Potter and not have to deal with the Wizard-Who-Conquered, The-Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One and all that rubbish. I never wanted any of the fame. In fact, I hate it." His voice was shaking with anger. Hermione gently placed a hand on his shoulders then pulled him for a hug.

"I know, Harry. It isn't fair how they treat you. But you did do things that the rest of the witches and wizards can only dream about. And as much as you hate the fame, it's better for them to remember Voldemort and his atrocities than to simply forget."

"I could never have done it without you or Ron for that matter. With the two of you alongside me, Voldemort never stood a chance." Hearing the door open, the pair turned to see Ron Weasley's tall lanky form striding towards them.

"Ahh, there you two are. Mum wants to get a picture of all the Weasleys. And you two, in her opinion, are just non-redheaded ones." Seeing their close proximity he asked, "What are you two so intently talking about this time?"

"Just you." Hermione teased.

"Only good things I hope?"

"Of course, what else would there be?" Harry added on to Hermione's teasing. Ron just smiled in response. Hearing a noise Harry glanced up to see that the manor's porch light had clicked on since the sun had now set. Glancing down the porch's steps, Harry saw a pale skinned man dressed in black begin to ascend the stairs. Reaching the top of the stairs, the man paused to address the trio. Harry took a moment to study the man. He had cropped short hair that was a white blonde hue. Harry noted that the man's all black ensemble, a simple yet elegant suit, appeared to be in pristine condition as if it had never been worn before. The man carried himself with an almost regal bearing. At the edges of the sleeves and the man's collar, Harry could see multiple tattoos covering the man's exposed skin, including several on the man's hands.

"I'm going to assume that you young folks are here for the graduation ceremony. I am in the proper place, am I not?" The man in black inquired.

"Why, yes this would be the place. The ceremony itself has been over for several hours now, though the reception is still going strong." Harry replied.

"If I may inquire as to what your names are, good sirs and madam?" Harry introduced Ron and Hermione and finished by introducing himself as Harry Potter. The man's eyes gave a brief flash of recognition when Harry stated his name but didn't react otherwise. Finishing the introductions Harry asked the man his name in return.

"My name is Ambros Aksel, at your service," The man now identified as Ambros gave a short flourished bow as he introduced himself. When he stood straight again, Harry noticed from Ambros' smile that his teeth were pure white.

"So you're the man that Rod mentioned who'll be involved in our physical training." Ambros gave a nod in a response.

"I'll be assisting Rod with multiple disciplines of the martial arts that we'll be giving you a brief overview of. We'll find which one plays to your personal style the best and begin more in-depth individual training with me. Not to be rude, but I must be get inside quickly." Ambros bid a quick goodbye and headed on inside the manner. Harry noted that his footfalls seemed to be completely silent.

"Seems to be an interesting chap at least from his appearance and manner, eh Harry?" Ron asked.

"I think he'll be an interesting instructor for sure. Though I am curious as to where he's from. I've not ever seen a man who looks quite like him. What's your impression of him, Hermione?" Harry could tell that she was deep in thought, as she was biting down on her bottom lip as she was apt to do in the throes of thought. Her eyes suddenly brightened as it seemed she'd come to a conclusion.

"This is just pure speculation, but from what I know and have read in books, the man has all the appearances of a vampire. That would explain why he didn't show up until sunset. It would also explain his pale skin and why he seemed to carry himself… well for lack of a better word, perfectly." Harry nodded in agreement with Hermione, while Ron let out a sound of disbelief.

"A vampire?! We're going to be taught by a vampire? They're supposed to be dark creatures of the night, why would he want anything to do with Aurors? Though Rod must know and he seemed to be a decent enough chap. And Remus was a werewolf and he was one of the most decent people I've ever known." Stopping to think for a second, he made an addition to his statement. "Cool. We're going to be trained by a vampire." Shaking their heads at their friend, Hermione and Harry began to discuss the ramifications that the man called Ambros Aksel was a vampire.

"Come on, we've got to get in there before too long or Mum will kill us all," Ron interrupted his friends chatter. The trio of friends stepped back into the old Manor. Harry couldn't help but thinking that he had the best two friends in the world and that he never want to change that. Smiling inwardly, he and the others headed back in to the celebration.

Notes

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own a damn thing.**

**A/N This story has been in working stages for quite awhile. I'm finally getting off my ass and putting the idea down in print, well kinda. This prologue started off as an outline that I fleshed into this due to the fact that I thought it would help ease readers into this future world of Harry Potter that I've been crafting for about six months now. Please feel free to leave a review and any constructive criticism will be appreciated. I have written rough drafts of the next few chapters that I need to sit down and polish up before even thinking about posting.**

**A/N II - Many of the original character names or the additions to canon character names bear meaning significant to their character. I will share the meaning of those names here when ever said character is introduced. Other characters names don't have specific meanings, but are created to fall within the existing families in Harry Potter.**

Orenda's name is an Iroquois name meaning magic power

Will (Willard) Granger's name is an English name meaning strong-willed

Anna (Annabelle) Granger's name is a Scottish name meaning lovable

Merry Dursley's name is an English name meaning forgiveness, mercy

Tia (Tiamat) Weasley's name is a Babylonian name for a Sea Serpent Goddess (called the Mother of Life)

Mick Bones is Susan Bones' father (brother to the deceased Amelia Bones).

Argyle McKinnon is a surving member of the family that Voldemort slaughtered

Thelma Owain & Patricia O'Reilly are generic names and most likely won't be seen again (who knows)

Raynard Williamson first name is an English name meaning wise and strong. Williamson was the first Auror to see Voldemort just before he fled the Ministry. (he was never given a first name in canon)

Gawain Robards was Head Auror during Rufus Scrimgeour's time as Minister. He is mentioned during HBP when Scrimgeour is trying to convince Harry to become the ministry's poster boy.

Ambros Aksel's first name is German name meaning immortal. His last name, also German, means father of peace.

The song Harry hears is Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix


	2. 01: An Occassion of Great Proportions

**Chapter 1: An Occasion of Great Proportions (Updated 3/12/2014)**

**A/N Yes, I have skipped another 5 years ahead in time. Prologue II was written to fill in some of the back-story for the characters. 2006 (this year was chosen because it allowed enough time for certain events to occur for different characters) is when I wanted to start the fic, but I found it difficult to fill in the gaps in character's history without simply writing it. I came to the conclusion that either I write a huge flashback chapter or a 2****nd**** prologue. I opted for the latter. I didn't cover everything that's occurred but hopefully I put in enough so that you readers can wrap their heads around it. **

**June 14, 2006**

"Harry! Over here!" Harry glanced around to find the source of the voice and spotting it headed in its direction. Ron Weasley and his wife of just under a year, Luna, were waving to him, headed in their direction. They stood just inside the gates of Hogwarts. Ron had one of his twin sons in his arms, while Luna held the other. Gwydion & Frideric Weasley had been brought into the world three weeks prior. Ron was dressed in a smart set of black dress robes, while Luna wore a simple yellow sundress. Surrounding the young family was the rest of Weasley clan which had been growing exponentially over the last several years.

There was Bill & Fleur with their three children, Victoire, Dominique and Louis who were nine, seven, and four respectively. Bill had retained his long ponytail, and Fleur still looked as beautiful as ever. Charlie & his wife, Tia, had yet to settle down and have children. They were too involved with their respective dragon handling positions to raise a family, though they both stated it was in their future plans together.

There was also Percy, who had mellowed somewhat, & his wife, Penelope. Penelope was currently five months pregnant and it was showing. George & Angelina were also present with their six year old son Fred II and three year old daughter, Roxanne. Fred had seemingly taken on the spirit of his namesake and was quite the prankster, to his father's pride and mother's displeasure. Standing with George were Lee Jordan and his fiancée, Katie Bell. Lee had taken to pulling his dreadlocks back into a loose ponytail. He was talking animatedly to George, while Katie and Angelina chatted.

Ginny Weasley was present with her husband of two years, Draco Malfoy. Draco had their one year old daughter, Vivian Weasley, atop of his shoulders. Draco had insisted that Ginny not take his name and that their children take the Weasley name. He simply wished for the Malfoy name to die out, as he was the last. Harry also suspected that he didn't want his childrens' futures to be affected due to his and his forefathers' failings.

Standing proudly among their offspring were the patriarch & matriarch of the Weasley's, Arthur and Molly. Arthur had, as of last year, had been voted in to the position of Minister for Magic, when Kingsley had retired from the position and had since returned to the Auror Corps as Head Auror Trainer once again. Arthur had taken to his duties quite well and had so far done a splendid job as minister.

The reason for the gathering here at Hogwarts on this day was to attend the wedding of one Rubeus Hagrid and Maxime Olympe. The two half-giants had continued to grow closer after the war and were now tying the knot. Weaving through the crowd of redheads, Harry found himself accosted by one George Weasley.

"So how is my old drinking buddy?" George clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder with his greeting. In the aftermath of the war, Harry and George had both spent a good deal of time together at the pub attempting to drink their demons away. The first few times they had met up accidentally and though the two had sat drinking together they had never said more than two words between them other than a greeting. As time went on the two men began to open up about how the war had affected them. George had been the first to open up.

* * *

><p>December 18, 1998<p>

_I had finished up helping Hagrid for the day and headed on down to the Hogsmeade. "Eighth" year students had been given considerable freedom by Headmistress McGonagall due to our actual legal status. We still had to maintain proper decorum, etc. during school but we were not kept to the grounds since we had all reached our majority. I would be meeting up with George Weasley at the Hog's Head. We chose it over other places due to its more private setting and since the war, I had made a friend in Aberforth Dumbledore, the bar's proprietor. Entering the bar I spotted George's flaming hair at the bar and took a seat next to my companion for the night. Having seen me enter, Aberforth was setting down our usual two tumblers of __Ogden's Old Firewhiskey __and two mugs of Guinness._

_George and I both began by lifting our tumblers in remembrance of those we lost, as had become our tradition. We normally lapsed into silence with the occasional bit of conversation but this time was to be different. George began to speak._

"_I lost a part of myself that day. My words, my actions, hell, even my thoughts aren't complete anymore. Who's Gred without Forge? Just one half of a double act, only one half of the Weasley twins." George paused to take a deep drink from his beer. "I've been thinking about all the crazy things we used to pull together. Our fabulous explosive exit from Hogwarts, rescuing your arse in the ol' Ford Anglia, and settin' up Weasley's Wizard Wheezes courtesy of you. Though I've come to a conclusion on what is our greatest accomplishment ever. After your first year and we all found out about the whole deal with Professor Quirrell and the fact that Voldiepants had been on the back of his head hidden under that turban of his. Well, just before Christmas hols that year Fred and I had bewitched a bunch of snowballs to hit the back of Quirrell's head. Looking back now, it's our greatest achievement, we launched snowballs right into Voldemort's face!" George had gotten himself excited though now he quieted back down. "I miss my brother, but I can't afford to wallow in self-pity any longer because I've lost him. Drinks are on me tonight, Harry." Over the course of the night, we would talk further with myself even opening up a bit about those I had lost in the war._

_George and I still regularly get together for drinks as it had become a tradition between us that had now been ongoing for years. We both respected one another and had an understanding that any topic was approachable during the conversation. Our conversations were therapeutic really, they gave us an outlet with a companion who had suffered a similar loss and who understood. Anymore, the weightier topics were less common, many of our conversations focused on the ever growing business of WWW's._

* * *

><p>Harry gave George a return clap to the shoulder and stopped for a moment to discuss some business with George and Lee Jordan. Since Fred's death, Harry had also taken on a greater role with WWW's, as well as Lee coming in as another partner in the venture. Finishing up, he bid the pair a brief goodbye and continued on, giving hellos to the various redheads and their spouses, all the while searching for the person he was supposed to meeting here. Spotting her, he made his way to her.<p>

"Hullo, Hermione," he said smiling at her. She turned, smiling back at him.

"Thanks for doing this, Harry," she said. Her boyfriend, now ex, Brandon Mentior, had broken up with her a week ago. Though she hadn't seemed too upset about the breakup, she had purchased a new dress for the occasion and was now without an escort. Being without a girlfriend currently, Harry had volunteered when he heard.

"It's my pleasure, Hermione. It really is." It was true. He would do anything for his best friend. Since they were quite early, the wedding didn't begin for another three hours, they had to wait for the carriages to come take them up to the castle. Harry and Hermione made use of this time to chat about their work. Harry had recently been promoted to Lieutenant Rank among the Aurors. Lieutenants were the squad leaders in the Auror department and he had been placed in charge of the Ridgebacks. Hermione, meanwhile, had become quite the Unspeakable researcher. Most recently, she had been researching combining spells to achieve different results.

"So, how goes the Auror's work?" Hermione asked.

"Overall, it's been frustrating recently. We've only been able to close out a couple of our minor cases. We have several open cases from the last few months that we haven't been able to make heads or tails of."

"Oh, really? What are these cases?" Technically Harry wasn't supposed to tell anyone outside of the department about current cases, but he knew that Hermione wouldn't share the knowledge with others (as an Unspeakable, she had considerable experience keeping many secrets) and she could often provide insights to a case that no one else could. "Well, it's probably going to be the topic of choice at dinner so I'll fill you in then."

"Sure, that will work for me. Oh, here come the carriages." The thestral pulled carriages had indeed arrived. Among those currently present, all but the young children could see the winged beasts. The war with Voldemort had exacted a cost on them all. It was times such as these when those who had died were missed most. Harry couldn't help but think what Remus, Sirius, Fred, Dumbledore and the others would think of Hagrid getting married. Remus would be simply excited for the half-giant, Sirius would find a way to make it into a joke, as would Fred, and then Dumbledore, well… no one had ever really known what to expect from the man.

Harry climbed into a carriage with Hermione, with Ron, Luna and their twins sitting across from them. Ron and Luna shared a knowing glance as Harry took his seat next to Hermione.

"What was that about?" Harry asked.

"What was what about?" Ron said with feigned innocence.

"That look you just gave Luna."

"Nothing that you need to know about, mate. Besides you do the same thing with Hermione all the time." Harry couldn't argue with his best mate there, as it was true that he and his female best friend were quite adept at wordless conversations. Ron had often had to ask the two of them to say what they were thinking out loud, as the pair didn't even realize they hadn't vocalized.

Gwydion jumped from Luna's lap and landed in Hermione's. Hermione began talking in baby-talk to the little munchkin and then turned her attention to Luna. Having no interest in discussing the day to day activities of the twins, Harry asked Ron how the shop was going. Ron had resigned from the Auror corps after being severely injured on a mission last year and at the beginning of the current year had joined up with his brother and Lee at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The time between had been a rather dark time for Ron that only Luna had been able to pull him through. Since then, the Ridgebacks' fifth man had simply been any capable Auror available at the time.

"Well, George and Lee have been hard at work inventing all kinds of stuff. I help a little bit but the two of them are far better at the inventing end of things than I am. Most of what I've been doing is on the business and customer end of things. I'm only been involved with a little testing on the invention side. Last week George and Lee were testing some skin color changing gumdrops. They're designed so that any attempt to cancel the charm only results in a different color or pattern. Problem is, the set wear-off charm doesn't work. I looked like a bloody Christmas tree up until yesterday when Lee finally figured out how to change me back to normal. Frideric here kept asking why Daddy was painting himself." Harry and Ron shared a laugh at this.

"So other than the occasional prank gone wrong, it's going great. We've opened up branches in France, Spain and Germany and we are working on opening another in America for the Yanks. It's a bit of nightmare so we've hired on several administrative staff to help manage things. Speaking of, has Lee or George talked to you about the American branch's opening date?"

"We spoke about the opening but I don't remember setting a date. Why?"

"Well, seeing as you're still a third of the ownership, we figured you should be present for the grand opening. Hell, even the Yanks across the pond have at least heard of Harry Potter. That gives a bit of star power for the opening. Will you do it?"

"Of course I will. You guys are the only ones I'll ever use my fame for." Harry still didn't necessarily like the idea, but knew that it was in the best interests of his business partners and had made appearances at the other branch openings already. "When's the opening?"

"Not 'til next month. I think it's on the… Ah hell. A little help here, honey?" Ron implored of his wife.

"July 22," Luna answered him succinctly.

"Thank Merlin that you can remember things, sweetie," Ron said, thanking her with a kiss. The married couple continued to kiss until Harry reminded them of the others in their carriage by loudly clearing his throat. Ron pulled away with a sheepish look, but Luna simply looked content. The foursome continued chatting until the carriages reached the castle doors.

Stepping out of the carriage they took a moment to take in the castle. All of the damage that had been caused by the final battle had been repaired. The only major change to the castle had been a memorial that was built on the outside the castle's front doors. The stone wall had been rebuilt brick by brick with each brick bearing the name of someone who had died fighting in the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It not only included those who died that day defending the school, but all of those who had fallen to Voldemort during the two wars. Harry glanced through the names seeing Sirius Black, Dobby, Colin Creevey, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, James Potter, and Lily Potter. Harry stopped at those names to simply stare. He knew their names were there, but they still seemed to surprise him. Continuing on through the names he saw Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Lupin, Fred Weasley and many others. Harry's memory briefly flashed back to that both horrific and wonderful day. Voldemort had fallen but at a terrible cost. If only Harry had been better, faster…

"Harry?" Hermione asked, breaking his reverie. Harry glanced over to see her regarding him carefully. Ron and Luna had already gone inside. Walking over to stand slightly behind him, she placed a hand on his left shoulder and leaned her head onto his right. "You're remembering them, aren't you?"

"I-I could've done more. I should have just revealed myself, but I wait-" Hermione cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips.

"Harry, there's nothing you could've done. It's not your fault. It's not your fault that Voldemort decided to become a dark wizard. It's not your fault he hated anyone who wasn't a pureblood. Without Voldemort, none of this would have happened. It's not your fault." Hermione tried her best to comfort him, but he still couldn't let go. Instead he pushed his guilt aside for now and turned to smile at her.

"Thank you, Hermione, for everything." He pulled her in for a hug. The pair simply stood holding each other. How long they stood just simply stood leaning on one another, Harry had no idea. Sighing, he broke from the hug, but maintained a hold on her hand, and asked "Shall we?" The pair headed into the doors and set off for the Great Hall where the wedding would be held.

The charmed ceiling was a brilliant blue with only a few puffy clouds floating through the air. The Great Hall had been completely redecorated. The hall had all of the long tables that were standard during the school year removed in favor of multiple round tables set for twelve each. For decorations there were several large ancient willow & pine trees. They towered high above the rest of the room. The head table remained albeit it was set a bit more grandly than normal.

Spotting Ron and Luna, Harry pulled Hermione their direction. Chatting amicably with the Weasleys couple were Neville Longbottom and his wife, Padma. Neville and Padma had started dating during their respective mastery trainings, getting married in 2004. After attending the Howel Mastery School (located in Cornwall) for 2 years of additional schooling and then two years gaining their masteries, the two had then done apprenticeships under Sprout and McGonagall. Neville was now the herbology professor, with Padma teaching transfiguration. Neville was also the current Gryffindor Head of House.

Also at the table were Draco & Ginny, Michael Corner & Cho Chang (who were currently on again), and Dean Thomas with a blonde witch whom Harry recognized as Beth Starr, one of the Ministry's record keepers. Harry took a seat next to Ron with Hermione sitting next to his left next to Ginny. Hermione turned and started chatting with Ginny, so Harry turned his attention to Ron & Neville's conversation.

"So how's your dad been?" he heard Neville ask Ron.

"He's taken quite well to the Minister position. I mean there's been quite a bit of adjustments he's had to make because of it, but he figured out most of that within a month of being elected. Now six months in, he's been able to really start exercising his authority and getting shite done."

Arthur had been elected as Shacklebolt's replacement when the former Auror, now head Auror trainer once again, retired the position after 7 years in office. Arthur had run on a progressive platform and had surprisingly to some, won the position in a sure victory over his opponent. Arthur intended to institute as much change as he could into the archaic wizarding government. Other governments such as the American Magical Republic, the Australian Ministry or the Canadian Ministry had all become considerably more modern in their governing mindset and left wizarding Britain had been left behind.

"I reckon he'll be able to pass some stuff through, assuming he can get the support from the Wizengamot," Neville replied. "How's he handling the wand rights legislation that's being deliberated on right now?"

"He's doing as much as he possibly can to get it passed. He's pretty much had to call in every favor that anyone owes him though. The bloody wankers in the Wizengamot can't seem to see the point."

"I'd say it's a pretty simple point. If they don't pass it the goblins have threatened to shut down Gringotts again. This time I doubt they'll open back up as easily," Harry chimed into the conversation.

"Bloody Hell, I hadn't heard about that. What's making the goblins so keen to get other beings wand rights?" Ron asked.

"I think they just want to have their bases covered. Since they're the only ones other than humans with wand rights, they still feel threatened. In all of North & South America, all wand-right laws were completely abolished. Here in Britain they just eliminated the Goblin wand laws. Although, I'm not sure that some beings can even use wands." Harry replied.

Back in 2003 the goblins had gotten tired of waiting and had taken matters into their own hands. The goblins had shut down Gringotts and said they would do so indefinitely until they were given their rights. The Ministry had had no choice but to concede since British wizarding society would have collapsed quickly without the bank. Goblins still didn't really trust humans, but they were equal under the law.

"They just want the right so that the Ministry will stop lording it over them even if they can't use the things," Neville added his thoughts to the conversation. "So how are things in the Auror department, Harry?"

"Things are actually much smoother now that the department can act independently. We don't have to wait for a bunch of bureaucrats to decide if we can take action. We still need permission for out of country missions, but that's expected since we have to deal with other ministries. The Ridgebacks are actually shipping out to Canada tomorrow, in fact."

"Oh, who are you guys taking as your fifth?" questioned Ron.

"Dennis Creevey. He's not an Auror per se, but he's a great support worker. He won't be involved with any of the operations directly, but will be helping coordinate and the like."

"Isn't Creevey still a little green for an overseas mission? He'd be fresh out of the academy wouldn't he?"

"He is. But he's not trained as a frontline Auror, he was trained to do support stuff like handle communications, keep track of multiple surveillance cameras and loads of other stuff. It's a new thing that Head Auror Williamson and Shacklebolt have added to the department. It's supposed to help keep us together on missions. Creevey was with us on our last mission and he saved our arses from being discovered a couple of times. He's damn good at what he does." Harry was genuinely proud of what the formerly small meek boy had made of himself. Though he wasn't necessarily cut out to be an Auror, the lad was a genius with technology.

"You thinking about taking him on as a permanent fifth?"

"I think so. We'll still need to recruit a fifth Auror for some missions, but for most he'll be able to do more than enough from behind the scenes."

"He'd have to wear stilts to pass himself off as a big bad Auror anyways, the midget." The three men shared a laugh at this. Dennis really had never grown that much and didn't stand any taller than Hermione did, now that Harry thought of it. His laughter was interrupted by an elbow in his side from Hermione. He turned and saw that she was pointing at the front doors where the wedding procession had lined up. The crowd fell into silence and the air filled with music. Harry looked to his left and saw that Hagrid and Arthur had taken their positions at the front. Hagrid was actually wearing a smart looking (albeit huge) tuxedo. Harry was somewhat surprised as he had never seen Hagrid actually wear something that didn't look like it came from the forest. He had also managed to tame his hair and beard to an extent, but it was still quite wild. Arthur wore simple set of navy blue dress robes.

Looking back to the door he saw Grawp, the best man, attempting to escort the maid of honor, Fleur Weasley, into the hall. It was a bit difficult as Grawp was roughly nine feet taller than her. Fleur had opted to wrapping an arm around one of Grawp's fingers rather than attempt to take his arm. Grawp was dressed in a tuxedo similar to Hagrid's, though much larger, and Fleur was dressed in resplendent silver dress. The pair made their way up the aisle and took their places on the stage.

The music changed to the bridal march and Madame Maxime entered escorted by ancient looking man that Harry took to be her father. Olympe Maxime's height dwarfed the man, leading Harry to assume that like Hagrid, Olympe Maxime's giant heritage was from her mother. She was dressed in a simple but elegant white wedding gown. She wore a short white veil around her face and carried a bouquet of yellow irises. Hermione pointed out to him that the irises were a national symbol for France.

As Olympe walked up the aisleway, Harry saw that Hagrid was beaming. Hagrid walked down the steps and taking Olympe's hand he led her up the steps to stand in front of Arthur. The crowd began to sit and Harry joined them. Arthur began the ceremony with a greeting.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to cherish the words which shall unite one Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime in marriage." Arthur paused for a moment and then continued.

"Rubeus and Olympe, in the days ahead of you, there will be times of difficulty and conflict. When you find yourselves in these situations, I ask you to reflect on this marriage advice:  
><em><strong><br>**_Let your love be stronger than your anger.  
>Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than to break.<br>Look for the best in your beloved rather than the worst.  
>Confide in your partner and ask for help when you need it.<br>Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.  
>Give your spouse the same courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.<br>Say "I love you" every day."

"Rubeus and Olympe, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift; a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely. " Turning to look directly at Hagrid, Arthur continued.

"With this understanding, do you Rubeus, take Olympe to be your beloved wife? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful husband? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, and keep yourself only unto her?"

"I do," Hagrid said with a large grin on his face. Arthur continued on to Olympe.

"With this understanding, do you Olympe, take Rubeus to be your beloved husband? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful wife? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, and keep yourself only unto him?"

"I do," echoing her equally proportioned beau. At this Fleur stepped forward and handed the rings to Arthur. The rings were both fairly simple, Hagrid's a large gold band and Olympe's a platinum band with a circle of diamonds at its head.

"Rubeus and Olympe have chosen rings as outward symbols of the commitment they make today. From earliest times, the ring has been a symbol of wedded love. An unbroken and never-ending circle symbolizes a commitment to love that is also never ending." Arthur handed Hagrid Olympe's ring.

"Rubeus, take the ring which you have selected, place it on Olympe's finger, and say to her these words. This ring, a gift for you, symbolizes my desire that you be my wife from this day forward." As Arthur said the words, Hagrid did as Arthur said. Taking Hagrid's ring from Arthur, Olympe repeated the process.

"Let these rings serve not as locks binding you together, but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever." Stepping forward Fleur began a softly sung recital.

"May the sun bring you new energy by day.  
>May the moon softly restore you by night.<br>May the rain wash away your worries.  
>And may you live the days of your lives in peace, love, and happiness."<br>When she was finished Arthur began the pronouncement.

"Rubeus and Olympe, having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here, and by the authority vested in me, I announce with great joy that you are husband and wife. Rubeus, you may kiss the bride." Pulling back Olympe's veil the two half-giants engaged in a gentle loving kiss. The room applauded along with several catcalls coming from Charlie and George Weasley.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, for the first time as husband and wife: Rubeus and Olympe Hagrid!" Arthur bore a large grin on his face and the applause rang out through the hall. Hagrid led his new wife to the head table and before he took his seat, he began to speak.

"I would like to thank all of yeh that came out to celebrate with me and Olympe. It's been right fine to see yeh here. I'd 'specially like to thank all the Order members here as that's how me and Olympe got closer." Hagrid paused for a moment before continuing. "I'd also like to take a moment and remember those who can't be with us today 'cause of the war and all 'specially Dumbledore. Great man, Dumbledore was." The hall was completely silent. All of those present either had a relative who died or knew someone who had died in the war. With a bit of a crack in his voice, Hagrid continued.

"Right now I'd like to show some 'preciation for three of yeh specifically. 'Harry, 'Hermione, and Ron. You three stuck by me no matter what and then ye went on to save all our bloody arses." Hagrid paused to clap his hands and the whole room lit up with applause. Harry blushed at the attention and glancing at Hermione saw her doing the same. Ron appeared to just take it, but much more nonchalantly than he would have in the past. When the applause died down Hagrid finished up with, "Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, let's eat!"

At Hagrid's words, a multitude of dishes appeared at the center of each of the tables. There was Sunday roast, Yorkshire pudding, bangers, various meat pies, cheeses, along with several French dishes that Harry didn't recognize. For dessert there was bread and butter pudding, trifle, Eton mess and Hogwart's famous treacle tarts. Harry and the others at the table began loading up their plates with the excellent food, Ron of course being the first to actually begin eating. As Harry began eating, several conversations broke amongst the Ridgebacks and their respective dates.

Leaning back in his seat, Harry took a moment to look around the room. He spotted every surviving member of the now disbanded Order of the Phoenix and their respective families, along with all of the Hogwarts staff, new and old. There was also a considerable amount of current and former students present both from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons to wish their respective professor and headmistress well. Continuing to look, he spotted two familiar figures laughing and talking. Bart Rise was animatedly sharing a joke with nephew, Rod Rise.

Over the last few years, several Auror cases had had AMR involvement and Rod seemed to be their preferred agent for work in Britain possibly due to his relation to Bart. Harry had ended up working with the man several times and was quite impressed by his abilities. As was the norm with daytime events, Ambros was not with the two men. Amongst the Aurors it was a well known fact that Ambros was a vampire, though the common consensus was that it was best to not advertise that fact to avoid any incidents. Although both Kingsley and Mr. WeasleyArthur did their best to work against the ingrained prejudices in Britain those types of things didn't just simply disappear overnight. It was those prejudices against other beings, muggles, and muggleborns that had allowed for a man like Voldemort to gain power in the first place.

Also gathered at the Rises' table, was a huge hulking man, whom Harry thought might be some half-giant relative of Hagrid's, a dark-skinned man with a gnarled walking stick leaning against his seat, a strikingly beautiful auburn haired witch, and three children who appeared to belong to the woman. Of the children, the girl and one of the boys appeared to be of Hogwarts age, while the third boy looked to be under ten years of age. Harry felt a nudge on his side. He turned to find Hermione looking at him and she asked, "What are you staring at Harry?"

"Oh, just trying to puzzle out who those two blokes and the woman are over there with Bart and Rod. They seem to know them." Hermione looked intently in their direction and Harry noticed that she was slightly biting her bottom lip, indicating she was pondering something.

"I think I've seen the woman before when I was at Manone. Not sure as to what her name is though. I've no idea who the other two men are or who the children belong to. As far as I know Bart and Rod don't have any children so my assumption is that the children belong to some combination of the other three." Harry shrugged and returned his attention to his food. Ron was already cleaning off his first plate and beginning to refill it. After eating his fill of the delectable entrees and polishing off a magnificent pudding for dessert, Harry refocused his attention on the conversations at the table. Due to the presence of all of the primary Ridgebacks at the table, the table's conversation had drifted towards the team's current cases.

"In the last two months alone, four major magical crime lords have been offed." Dean was summing up everything that was known mostly for the benefit of Ron and Neville. "Sharkû was the first, followed by Ashuruk and Black Rea. Asholog was killed last month…"

"Hold on a second, somebody knocked off Asholog got killed?" Ron interrupted Dean's summary. "The man was the size of troll and had the bloody strength to match. I still remember the first time we tangled with him. The man threw me through a stone door!"

"As much of a force to be reckoned with that he was, he was found dead, killed just like the other three. A single stab through the heart with some sort of blade. The, uh… rest of the details aren't really dinner conversation…" There was some brief muttering as Ron and Neville questioned for details quietly so the womenfolk didn't hear. Hermione being Hermione leaned in and asked Harry for details.

"Their faces were peeled off, leaving nothing but the skull behind it." Harry murmured in response. Hermione made a brief disgusted face, but quickly regained her composure. In her work as an Unspeakable she had dealt with cases that were rather revolting and had built a tolerance for it. Ron nodded his head for Dean to continue.

"Anyways another recent event is that Ricred the Red and Pembroke Lloyd have suddenly ceased their feud with one another and then both have slipped from view. The other remaining bosses in the London area have issued a bounty of 10,000 galleons for the person behind the killings. From what we've gathered there's also an information bounty of 500 galleons, but it's not to be paid out unless the information leads to the capture or killing of this person or group. We honestly don't know much more than they do. The only other piece of information we have is that we've confirmed that the same weapon or at least the same type was used to kill all four bosses."

"What's the state of the dead lords' gangs?" Hermione asked.

"Well, that's the oddest part of this. At first our instincts were that someone or some group had taken it upon themselves to eliminate all the competition but that doesn't seem to be the case." Draco had spoken up to answer Hermione's question. "Gangs normally decline into infighting over who's to take the dead lord's place. But the gang's themselves have gone quiet for the most part. When they have shown their faces they seem to still be organized but by whom we don't know."

"So it seems that whoever has been killing the lords, has been taking their respective gang under their control. But who could it possibly be?"

"We don't know. We've managed to question a few members from the dead lords' gangs but none proved useful. They didn't don't seem to know themselves. We're hoping that this trip to Canada might help shed some light. 10 years ago it seems that a similar series of events happened in the city of Toronto. All the gangs have since been unified and under a single banner though yet again no one is sure as to whom the head of the gang is." Draco finished his reply and returned his attention to his food for the time being. Draco had a tendency to suddenly shift his attention to something else even if others weren't ready to move on. The Ridgebacks had come to recognize this and seeing it happen, Harry continued.

"Our actual mission to Canada isn't to look into this possible connection. We're actually going to help deal with a dark wizard who's been gaining power, but we'll look into the connection as much as we possibly can. An Auror team from Canada and America will be working with us, and I think that Rod Rise will be in some form as well."

"Speak of the devil, and he might just appear." Harry turned in his seat to see none other than Rod and Bart Rise standing behind him. "Your assumption would be correct, Harry. Bart and I will be there but not as an official part of the American team. We were the Aurors that chased our new wanna-be dark lord, Chantal, out of the states into Canada 'bout four years ago. We'll officially be along in an advisoral capacity." There were several nods and wry grins around the table as the Ridgebacks all knew Rod well enough to know he would be in the thick of the action.

"I won't be going into the details now, but you and the other teams will be receiving a briefing from Bart and me upon your arrival in Toronto tomorrow." Sobering, Rod continued in a much more serious tone. "Though she's relatively new, Chantal's not one to mess around with. She's proven herself to be a legitimate threat and you're gonna need to be prepared to deal with here as one. I'd suggest that you boys don't stay out late tonight and get some good sleep tonight, but seeing as its only mid-afternoon, y'all enjoy yourselves for now. Have a drink on me and I'll be seeing all of you tomorrow." Rod gave a mock salute in farewell and he and his uncle made their way across the room to the doors of the hall and made their exit.

"You heard the man, let's have ourselves a drink!" Dean shouted out and was answered by a chorus of ayes from around the table. The table's conversations drifted back to lighter matters and would remain there for the rest of the night. Harry and the others at the table's memories of that night would be hazy at best. The rest of the night went without incident and all would make it home safe that night.

* * *

><p><strong>June 30, 2006<strong>

**Twilight on the Welsh countryside**

A lone cloaked figure crept through the inky darkness of a field in Wales. The slight sliver of what was visible of the moon was currently hidden behind the thick clouds that blanketed the sky. It was deathly silent, silent enough that thea slight popping noise was hearable by the cloaked figure. At the sound, it the figure dropped to the ground immediately and seemingly disappeared into the shadows. Accompanying the pop was the appearance of two individuals, both clothed similarly to the first in dark cloaks. Both wore their hoods up though a long white beard could be seen exiting one of the pair's hood. These details were missed by the first figure that in hiding had covered the entirety of its form with its cloak. In reference to the first figure, the white bearded figure was merely a few spans away. The bearded figure waited as the other closed the distance between the pair. The first figure tried to judge what was happening from the sounds, but would remain unaware that one of the figures had moved, due to lack of sound accompanying the moving one's footfalls.

"My lord, she is no more," the figure spoke in a smooth quiet voice, following a shallow bow given to the bearded cloak. Though the words were soft spoken, the first arrival heard them clearly due to the unearthly lack of noise. "She was felled in combat with _them_." The man stressed the word them as if the common word bore a greater meaning.

"Ye hast done well in bringing these tidings to me. Though I hoped for more, my assumption has always been that she would reveal herself at an inopportune moment. Though it is regrettable that one of my kin has fallen, her falling prey to their workings prevented her from undoing years of preparation. Now, what can ye tell me of our other operations in the area?"

In response to the question, the other man spoke began speaking in a language that the figure hiding on the ground thought sounded similar to English but the words were all wrong. The two conversed in this language for some time, finishing with farewells in English. Moments later a pop was heard and the figure on the ground stirred for the first time since the others' arrival. Standing the figure took a moment to glance around and seemingly satisfied that no one was around, disappeared without a sound.

**A/N 2: I forgot to make note of this in the prologue. I chose to have ****Fabian Prewett, Gideon Prewett, Raynard Williamson, James Potter, and Kingsley Shacklebolt go through Auror training as a team set up much like Harry & co's. Raynard Williamson & Kingsley Shacklebolt are confirmed as Aurors as they are alive during the second Wizarding War and still kicking in this story. I'm taking some liberties but I thought that the Prewett brothers and James Potter would be the type of men to get every inch of training they could get to stand against Voldemort.**** It's just something that I though made sense that these characters would do.**

**A/N 3: Also it would be prudent for me to mention that all flashbacks will be written from the perspective of whoever is telling/reliving the memory. This gives me a chance to experiment with some different points of view. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.**

**A/N 4: Just to make a note of this, the story's current status can be found on my profile page, u/3358070/Caradoc_Rhys.**

**Name Etymologies**

Sharkû's name is Black Speech for Old Man (Lord of the Rings orcs' language)

Ashuruk's name is Black Speech for One Orc

Black Rea's name is Latin for Female Criminal

Asholog's name is Black Speech for One Troll

Pembroke Lloyd's name is Welsh for Land's End and Grey

Chantal's name is French for Stony Place.


	3. 02: Molly's Family

**Chapter 2: Molly's Family**

**July 22, 2006**

This is insane. Harry took a deep breath. He had just finished up a three-hour long session of autographs and pictures before he managed to escape into a storage room. He hadn't really expected his presence to bring so many people. But George, marketing genius that he was, had made a point to advertise Harry's appearance. Though advertise was saying it mildly. Glancing at the audacious flyer on the door, he read "Harry Potter in his first appearance in the States. Come and meet the legend". Harry had noted that though he was famous in Britain and America, his treatment was very different. In America he was just another famous face really. The most anybody really knew about him was that he'd been the one to stop yet another dark wizard in Europe. Then again, this may have to do with the fact that would-be dark lords in the Americas typically had a very short lifespan due to the AMR Aurors' use of extreme prejudice in such situations. That and the fact that there is no large pureblood faction in the Americas to back them surreptitiously as had been the case with Voldemort. Only a handful of pureblooded families had moved to the colonies, and purebloods were essentially nonexistent among the indigenous people groups.

Those fans who did know anything about him seemed to know just about everything about his life, at least those parts of his life had ever made it into print, true or not. It was quite creepy really. He had learned from several overeager teenage witches, who had gushed at meeting the great Harry Potter, that the internet was in common use among wizards in America and thus that there was a multitude of fan sites dedicated to him across the country. The girls had said that they were moderators of one such site and gave him the web address for him to check out. Harry had no such intentions as the fact that his life was being subjected to even more scrutiny and obsession was not a pleasing thought.

As far as the people went, the Americans were overall an amicable bunch. He had seen all types from the fangirls to the politicians to those who were just curious what Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was all about and meet Harry Potter while they were at it. Harry had also met a few of the younger Flynns, one of the few pureblood families in the Americas. Overall they looked similar to a Weasley except a good deal stockier and with red hair a few shades brighter than that of a Weasley. From conversation he had learned that the family was a distant relation of the Weasley's though George mentioned that the last shared ancestor died in the 1700s. Overall they had been a different sort than the pureblood families in Britain as they seemed to hold neither prejudices nor elitism over others. Through the conversation the eldest showed an interest in partnering with WWW's to spread the stores throughout America. A meeting was set for the next week with Harry, George and the Flynn clan.

Harry leaned back against the cabinet and closed his eyes for a second when he heard the familiar click of a camera shutter go off. He opened his eyes and fixed them into a glare at the offender who had managed to find him.

"The great Harry Potter caught in a moment of candid reflection. This'll sell well," a voice spoke. When Harry's vision cleared and he saw who it was, his glare gave way to a chuckle.

"You'll never give up on your tricks, will you, Rod?" Harry questioned the American Auror.

"Can't help that your security seems to be a bit lax of late," Rod quipped back. "Constant vigilance!" Rod spoke in a worthy imitation of Moody. Rod Rise was the nephew of Bart Rise, the American Magical Republic Auror Liaison or the AMRAL, as the Aurors had taken to calling him. Similar to his uncle he had the same long russet hair, though Rod's had no grey. Rod was also a half-foot shorter than his uncle but far stockier. Harry had seen the man do some incredible damage to dark wizards using nothing more than his fists. Rod was an AMR Auror, though Harry had no idea exactly what rank or division the man was part of. He just seemed to show up any time there was a situation required discretion. Though Rod's methods were anything but subtle, the man left absolutely no trace at scene.

"You knew Moody?" Harry questioned.

"Of course I did. What good Auror doesn't? The man trained our Auror division shortly before the second fuckin' war." Rod also had the "Yooper" accent of his uncle though far less restrained and combined with his habit of cursing like a sailor in everyday conversation. "Never will forget ol' Mad-eye. The man got right pissed at me for sleeping during one of his lectures. Not a mistake I ever wish to repeat." Though Harry had never actually been taught by the real Moody he could imagine the situation easily. "Anyways, Bart's out talkin' to George, Ron and Lee. Ya up to dealin' with people again, oh Chosen One?" Harry shook his head at the name but gave his agreement by standing and following Rod out back into the store.

Bart upon seeing Harry, shouted a greeting and waved him over. He was talking animatedly with the others, perhaps discussing some new joke product. Bart had shown a particular fondness for WWW's products over his years spent in England. He had actually been a part of why WWW's was expanding into America as he had helped create a business relationship between the American Magical Republic's Auror department and WWW's. With the new business opportunity it was only sensible that the next store would be in America. Joining the others, Harry asked to how business had been for a grand opening.

"Business was fantastic! From the initial tally, we sold more 1st day than all our other stores' first week sales," Ron enthusiastically replied.

"That might have a wee bit to do with one The-Boy-Who-Lived deeming to grace our humble establishment," George said with a grin.

"I actually had a choice?" Harry questioned.

"Well, you had to go and take all the fun out of it, by being agreeable and saying yes." Harry raised his eyebrows. George continued with a sly grin. "We're not above a little kidnapping for business's sake." Harry chuckled as he could easily George doing exactly that.

"I think your opening went wonderfully. From what I've seen today and heard, you should do well here in the US." Bart added. "I'll get back to Britain soon. However there are some things I need to take care of here before I can head back. You take care of yourself, Harry." Bart clapped Harry on the shoulder and then headed out the store's front door with his nephew. George, Ron and Lee took out their wands and began the incantations that would lock the store up for the night. A manager would be selected soon to take on this task but for now it fell to the owners. Once finished, George removed a Harry Potter doll from his pocket.

"This is our ticket home boys. Portkey straight to the burrow and to some of Mum's cooking." At the mention of food, Harry realized he hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast that morning, making Harry look all the more forward to some of Mrs. Weasley's excellent food. Still shaking his head at George's choice of a portkey, Harry placed his hand on it along with the others. With a slight pop, the foursome disappeared, leaving WWW's America an abandoned playhouse.

* * *

><p>Harry had finally gained the ability to land on his feet from portkeys, floos, and the like after going through auror training. Upon appearance in front of the ramshackle house that was the burrow, the four men could immediately smell Molly's cooking. Molly and Arthur had added a large room off the back of the house that they used for family gatherings and such. Even though all the Weasley children had moved out on their own, it wasn't uncommon for the family to gather once or twice a month. Striding up to the door and entering, Harry found himself amidst a sea of red. Weasleys of all ages, shapes and sizes were packed into every corner of the burrow. Taking a look around him saw that all the Weasley children and their respective families were present coming to a total of 22 Weasleys (not counting Draco). As this gathering was not only a celebration of the successful WWW's American branch opening, but was also the monthly gathering of the surviving members of the Order, there were several others present.<p>

The others included the retired minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hagrid & Olympe, who had only recently returned from their Honeymoon in the American Rockies, the remaining parts of the Ridgebacks, Dean Thomas and Michael Corner and a more recent addition to the group, Raynard Williamson, current Head Auror. Raynard had not only been a great political ally but also had become a friend to many in the order, particularly with Arthur. As such it was not uncommon to see him at such gatherings.

Teddy Lupin had been dropped off by his grandmother and upon seeing Harry, wrapped his arms around Harry and refused to let go. Playfully prying the boy from his leg, Harry grasped his hand and led him to the table. Teddy spent a great deal of time with Harry as Harry had taken his godfather role quite seriously, especially since he understood Teddy's situation all too well.

And then, of course, there was one Hermione Granger. She was chatting animatedly with Ginny, but upon seeing Harry approach the table, ended the conversation and made her way to him. She gave him a smile and then proceeded to crush him with her patented Hermione hug.

"I didn't forget about you, my little man," Hermione cooed while squatting down to give Teddy a hug of his own. Teddy replied by letting out a squeal of joy. Picking him up and holding him, she began to chat with Harry about the store opening. Soon Molly was calling to everyone to come and eat. As usual, she had made a huge feast that smelled delicious. Taking a seat with Hermione on his left and Ron on his right he began to dig in. It always amazed him how much food the Weasleys, as well as wizards in general, could put away. Seated across from him was Draco & Ginny, with their daughter, Vivian, sitting on her father's lap. Draco was conversing with his daughter in gentle low tones while he fed her. Hermione caught his attention and nodding her head at Draco, Harry nodded in return.

"You treat my niece any better, Malfoy, and I'll have to turn hair Weasley red," George jokingly threatened. George had once tried to do exactly that, but Malfoy had somehow rebounded his hex, rendering George into a good facsimile of a Malfoy.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm alright with you being a part of this family," Ron added. "I'd say you really start to change my opinion of you after the battle. Of all..."

Ron began the tale of the most epic of Malfoy rows.

* * *

><p><strong><em>May 03, 1998<em>**

_Of all the people I never expected to help with the cleanup after the Battle of Hogwarts, bloody sodding Draco Malfoy was definitely the lowest on the list. The first time I saw him out on the field I just wanted to hex him. Harry had told Hermione and I about the wizarding life debt that Draco owed him and that Draco had pledged his & the House of Malfoy's service to the House of Potter. It was.. unexpected to say the least. Harry also told us about what he'd seen in Snape's memories concerning Draco and his actions of the last few years. While i still think he's a prat, I wouldn't have wished his fate on anyone._

_Draco was mostly silent in his actions, helping to clear debris and bodies. Things had to be done the muggle way, as the sheer amount of magic that had been released during the battle had created an area where spells' effects were completely unpredictable. Leave it to me to have found that when trying to levitate a block and it exploding instead. I watched Draco like a hawk. I didn't trust him nor think he was remotely sincere. But he continued to work, never faltering, never complaining, not ever saying a word, really._

_Until old Lucius came to talk to him while he was cleaning up the debris of one of the many collapsed castle walls._

_"Son, what are you doing? This labor is beneath a Malfoy," Lucius stated. Draco had briefly glared at his father, but then continued on as if he wasn't there. "Cease this pointless labor, son. You shame our status and station and bring embarrassment onto our house."_

_"We don't have status and station. Because of you." Draco quietly replied. "We don't have money because of you. We don't have a home because of you."_

_"The Dark Lord is responsible, he..."_

_"DO NOT shift the blame, father!" Draco erupted as anger flashed in his eyes. "You decided to follow him out of your own free will. I only ever did anything because he was going to kill mother!"_

_"I was coerced, he threatened my wife and child," Lucius spat back._

_"BULLSHIT! That only happened after a lifetime of service. Just because you finally realized what a piece of shit he was, doesn't excuse you. It's your fault we were ever in danger in the first place." At this point, everyone else in the area was simply watching._

_"I was trying to get our family ahead. I provided you with opportunities and this is how you repay me? With your petty insolence?" Lucius sneered at his son._

_"Opportunities!? Opportunities like getting beat for not pleasing you? Or passing on your ignorance to me? Guess what, father? Our smartest witch of my generation is a muggleborn! Our strongest wizard is a half-blood! Our blood hasn't and doesn't do shit for us!"_

_"I am your father and head of the House of Malfoy. You will obey me and show me the respect worthy of my station." Lucius commanded. Draco went silent for a moment._

_"The House of Malfoy will die with me. I am not your son." Malfoy's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion. Lucius reached for Draco, only for Draco to punch him square in the face. With that, Draco stalked off, leaving a bitter and bleeding Lucius Malfoy. A week later, Lucius would be tried and sentenced to Azkaban, never speaking to his son again._

* * *

><p>Almost everyone at the meal had been enraptured by Ron's tale. Draco, to his credit, had remained silent and just focused on his daughter. Draco was not one for revisiting his past. Various conversations began after Ron finished until George's amplified voice was heard.<p>

"Thank you everyone for being here tonight to celebrate our newest expansion. We had a fantastic opening today and we'll to expand more in the near future," At this, George raised his glass. "To absent friends and family."

"To absent friends and family," all adults echoed. There was no one in the room that hadn't lost someone to the war.

"Enough of that, let's celebrate!" George lightened the mood by leaping on the table and extending a hand to his wife. Angelina shook her head at her husband's insanity, but joined him. Giving his wand a wave, the room was filled with multicolored light and an upbeat tune began to play. George gave his wife a twirl, while others in the room either began to dance as well or socialize.

Harry turned his attention to Hermione, and upon seeing the wistful smile on her face, stood and offered his hand to her. She **accepted his hand and the two began a simple dance together. **Formerly, Harry had been pants at dancing, but Hermione loved to dance, and as such she had taken it upon herself to teach him. He had about frozen up due to their close proximity, but over time had begun to relax. Besides, what wizard wouldn't want to share a close dance with the pretty smart witch?

The music shifted to a slower song, so Harry pulled Hermione in close as they began a slow circular dance. Harry noticed Hermione's eyes were glistening.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked gently.

"Nothing, just... well... Just how lucky we are. Even with everyone else we lost, we still have each other, don't we Harry?" Harry smiled and nodded in response while Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. Harry's thoughts drifted to what the future would hold for them. Someday, Hermione would be married, as would Harry. What would happen to them? Would they drift apart or maintain their strong friendship? Hermione shifted and looked up at him with her soft brown eyes, while Harry stared back at her with his green eyes. Harry felt that he could stare into her eyes all day. He felt himself leaning forward...

"Oi! Harry!" Harry and Hermione broke apart at the sound of Ron Weasley's voice. Harry took a deep breath, what had that been? Shaking his head as if to clear it, he refocused on Ron.

* * *

><p>Ron had wanted to talk to Harry about some upcoming business with Wheeze's and the like and Harry had pretended to pay attention, but his attention remained elsewhere. After a while, Harry had excused himself and gone outside to clear his head. Leaning against the fence, he wondered what that moment with Hermione had been all about. They'd been friends for years and he'd never much thought of her as anything but his friend. He'd never experienced anything like their little moment earlier. Harry heard a rustle and a hand was placed on top of his. He turned to his side to see Hermione. Looking at her, he saw something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. Sadness? Happiness? As fate would have it, another interruption would disturb his toughts.<p>

One Rubeus Hagrid was heading straight towards him with a crate in his bulky arms. Reaching them, he set down the crate and leaned his considerable bulk against the fence as well.

"Well Harry, I've got somethin' for yeh. Came 'crossed it in the Forbidden Forest. First one I've ever seen 'bout in the area, but figgerin' you with the parseltongue and all, you might be able to do somethin' with it. They ain't even supposed to be in Britain, let alone the forest."

"Hagrid, what exactly are you trying to show me?" Harry questioned. Since Hagrid had mentioned Parseltongue and knowing Hagrid's love of incredibly dangerous creatures the only thing Harry could think of that would fit the bill was a Basilisk, which he was desperately hoping it wasn't.

"Not to worry, Harry. What I got here is just a Runespoor. You wouldn't have covered them until NEWT years for Creatures." Hagrid opened the top of the crate to reveal a three-headed snake that was about 4 feet in length. The creature was black with pale stripes wrapping it. "By my reckonin' it's less than a year in age. S'posed to be a bit longer by full adulthood."

Peering around Harry's side, Hermione launched into an explanation of the Runespoor. "Runespoor's are natives of Burkina Faso in Africa. According to notes from various Parselmouths, the Runespoor's three heads serve different functions. The left head is the planner, the middle is the dreamer, and the right is the critic. The right is often missing as the other heads will often join together to bite it off when it is overcritical of them. The runespoor's three heads are also used in the runic alphabet for the number three." Harry shook his head at his friend's seemingly limitless knowledge about any given subject. The runespoor's left head had been eyeing Harry and began hissing at him.

"You will do," it hissed at him. Hermione looked at Harry inquisitively, and Harry repeated what the head had said to him.

"I will do what?" Harry questioned the snake. The head that spoken simply glared at him, while the middle one responded.

"You can translate our dreams when they come," the dream head replied. "Though they have been few as of late."

"I'm goin' to make a pen for 'em by my hut. Figgered I'd let yeh know 'bout it, so I don't surprise yeh later."

"Later, Hagrid?"

"Well iffin' it decides to talk a lot, I'd might ask yeh to come down and see what it's sayin'. Yer the only parseltongue I know about." Harry nodded his acceptance and was glad that Hagrid's favor didn't involve anything terribly dangerous. Hagrid replaced the crate's lid and the half-giant bade goodbye.

Returning his attention to Hermione, he could see that the look he'd seen in her eyes had gone.

"I think I'd better be going, Harry. I'll see you Monday at lunch?" Harry nodded in response and the two gave each other a quick hug. Hermione walked to the end of the path and disapparated. Harry let out a sigh and followed suit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Just a quick note for the more grammatically correct among you. Rod and Bart will often be using improper English. This is intentional as the area they are from, the upper peninsula of the state of Michigan, has what is known as a "yooper" accent. Characteristics include regular use of the phrase 'eh?', and some improper English phrasing. These characteristics aren't necessarily consistent from person to person or from one region of the UP to another but I'm working from own experience of living in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for four years.**

**A/N II After a couple of years I'm finally returning to this. This chapter was already mostly written so it didn't take too terrible long to finish. The next few chapters have little bits and pieces done, though I at least have an outline. Anyways, my apologies for the ungodly delay. I will be trying to keep chapter updates a bit more regular from now on.**


	4. 03: Enter the Dragon

**Chapter 3: Enter the Dragon**

**July 24, 2006**

Organized crime… seems to just simply be a fact of civilization. Whether its smugglers, dealers, racketeers, assassins, fences or the like, the tendency to organize and surround others of like mind seems to be an instinctual part of society. Take one Pembroke Lloyd, for example. The son of a Welsh farmer, it was found that he had magical abilities. So off he went to Hogwarts. The boy would be rather reclusive other than a knack for running various rackets. He ran every racket known from selling fake invisibility cloaks to unsuspecting would-be rule-breakers to copying and selling Ravenclaws' notes.

Within the five years after he finished Hogwarts, Pembroke had successfully taken over the majority of rackets in Knockturn Alley. For years, his control was to the point that anyone who would run a racket without giving Pembroke his due would simply disappear. At the beginning of June, Pembroke had followed suit. This was a man who had avoided Voldemort's regime, yet he vanished as though he had never existed. All rackets and other unsavory activities that he was involved with simply continued. Not a person had seen or heard of him, though someone was still clearly pulling the strings.

Harry let out a sigh. Rubbing his temples in frustration, he leaned back into his chair. The Auror department had steadily been building a case against Pembroke, but had held off arrest to find out who he was in turn working for. Evidence had been uncovered that Pembroke was clearly taking orders from someone and the Head Auror had wanted to see if they could identify this individual. Now, Pembroke had simply disappeared. Settling back into his chair, he picked up the other file on his desk, Chantal's.

Chantal had risen to power seemingly out of nowhere. No one had been able to identify her even after she had been taken down. As such her was slim and only contained information since she'd become active about a year ago. Being based in Canada she had been able to basically disappear after any actions taken by her or her followers. The search had been based in Ontario, though they'd found several long distance portkeys after taking her down. Through some interviewing of some of her captured followers they'd found that she'd actually been based out of northern Alberta though as to where no one actually knew. The portkeys were bloodbound to Chantal and were currently residing with the Unspeakables as they tried to unlock them so they could locate Chantal's headquarters.

While the main mission had been successful, the fact finding that the Ridgebacks had done on the side had come up with almost nothing. They were primarily looking for ties to the recent changes in the criminal underworld in Britain, but had only managed to come up with the vaguest of ties between what was going on in Canada and the United States with Britain. The pattern was the same, underworld boss found dead from a single knife stroke, and with the facial skin removed down to their skull.

Harry brushed aside a stray lock of hair that had worked its way into his vision. Out of habit, he went to push up his glasses, only for his hand to collide with his nose. Harry had recently ditched his glasses in favor of magical contact lenses after a perp had summoned them off of his face. He never had to remove or replace them and they couldn't fall off while in the field.

Checking the time, Harry noted it was time for lunch and stood, tucking the file underneath his arm. He strode through the ministry and entered an empty elevator. He found his thoughts drifting to the witch that was he meeting. He'd not been able to get her completely off his mind since that moment at the Burrow. He still wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling during that moment, other than that there had been an intense connection between them. Reaching the atrium, he exited the elevator and began his way through. Even now, eight years after he'd beaten Tom, people still stopped to stare at him. Admittedly Ignoring them, he continued on his way to the apparition point and disapparated. He reappeared in an alley alongside a favorite restaurant of Hermione's, The Crabtree.

Entering the restaurant's patio, he spotted Hermione waving from a table and took the seat opposite her. Closing her book, she smiled at him. Harry noted that while she had a book in hand, as was her wont, she hadn't been reading, rather she had been looking over the River Thames. The Crabtree did offer a rather spectacular view of the river and the wetland nature reserve behind it. He watched her face, trying to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary like there had been at the Burrow. Seeing nothing unusual, he greeted her with a hello and smile.

"How are you, Harry?"

"Tired to be honest," Harry replied. He noted the look of concern in her eyes and Harry was about to ask her about what had happened at the Burrow, but the waiter interrupted.

"Ah madam and sir, good to see you again," the waiter greeted them warmly. "I shall assume it will be the usual order?" Harry nodded in agreement. Harry's usual was a roast beef sandwich, with Hermione's being a chicken club sandwich. With a few strokes of his pen, the waiter left to take their orders to the kitchen, allowing Harry to return to his question.

"Hermione..." he began hesitatingly. "Saturday night, something happened that I still don't know how to explain. You know what I'm speaking of?" She nodded in the affirmative. "As I said, I'm still trying to figure it out. What do you think about it?"

"Harry... I... I don't know, Harry." She fell into a thoughtful silence and Harry watched her. He thought she looked her best when she was deep in thought. When she was it was as if all of Hermione's masks and defenses were down, leaving just Hermione. "I need time to think about it, Harry." Harry, while disappointed at not getting an answer, nodded understandingly and smiled. He steered their conversation to the Ridgeback's recent time in Canada.

"So has the Department of Mysteries come up with anything on those portkeys yet?" He asked.

"Not as far as I know. I'm not involved directly and, well, you know how unspeakables are. Ideas and progress are rarely if ever directly shared with others. How are the Aurors doing on your end?"

"Unfortunately, we still don't have much to go on. All we've managed to do was find was that one company, Kasvoton, had dealings with both Chantal, Pembroke and Ricred. It still doesn't explain why Pembroke and Ricred have disappeared though. It doesn't help much that even though we did manage to subdue Chantal, she ended dead before we could ask any useful questions of here."

"If you had captured her, why did she end up dead?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, once we'd gotten her wand away, we assumed she wouldn't be too much trouble. Turns out she had a spare. She had just gotten it in her hand and was about to cast when Rod shot her in the chest with a pistol," seeing Hermione's eyes widen, Harry explained. "AMR Aurors all carry a handgun as well as a wand. Most wizards only use shields that are useful against spells _or_ solid objects, not both. It gives them options to work with."

"Oh. Well, did you get any information during your time in Canada?"

"Not really." He showed Hermione Chantal's thin file. "We've done some digging and we've found that Kasvoton seems to just be a shell corporation, but we haven't been able to figure out who actually owns it. It has 4 shareholders but all of them own an equal amount and none of the shareholders are individuals, just more companies," Harry paused for a moment. "I do have a suspicion that Rod and Bart know more than they're letting on. They would often discuss things between themselves but not to the rest of us. It's a bit frustrating, but it's part of working with another country's Aurors."

"I know Rod well enough to say this, and if Bart is anything like him, then there's probably a good reason they're not telling you everything." Harry nodded in agreement.

"I also overheard bits of a conversation they had after Chantal was taken down. Rod said something to the effect of 'They're not going to be happy about this. That and shadows is going to be right pissed too.' And Bart responded with 'I know. We're going to have to be careful for awhile. We're getting closer and they know it.' I have absolutely no idea who the _they_ is that Rod and Bart were talking about. Next time I see Rod I'm just going to ask him about it, see what he'll tell me. Enough about my work, how's your research been going?" Hermione brightened at his question and began informing him of the intricacies of a spell she had been working on. The waiter brought their sandwiches, and they both began to eat, Hermione still talking in between bites.

It gladdened Harry to see Hermione's exuberance about her work. Even though he either barely understood her most of the time or not at all, he was always glad to let her talk to him. Unspeakables weren't exactly social creatures, so she rarely had anyone to discuss things with. Though it had oft been reported that unspeakables weren't allowed to talk about their work at all, it simply wasn't the case. Unspeakables simply didn't talk to anyone most of the time. There were times that a fidelius or similar charm was employed for secrecy, but that was the exception rather than the rule. The only unspeakable that Hermione really talked to on a regular basis was Luna, and well, having a conversation with Luna was always a bit off-kilter.

Hermione was never happier than when she was sharing her vast knowledge with others. Harry could easily see her taking up a teaching position later in life, and he knew that she would be brilliant at it. McGonagall had already hinted that she would love to have Hermione teaching at Hogwarts several times since Hermione had returned from the states. Focusing back on Hermione, he caught a little bit about some Greek gods, but he'd missed enough that he really had no idea what she was talking about. He attempted to listen and follow what she was telling him, but he was hopelessly lost. Instead he took the time to study the witch sitting across from him.

He took note of the way that her hair would occasionally fall across her face. During her time in America, she had learned some methods of controlling her wild bushy hair. He also noted that even with it being a warm sunny day, she was still wearing a long sleeved shirt as she had ever since Bellatrix had carved "Mudblood" into her arm at the Malfoy manor. The scar had turned out to be permanent due to some dark magic at work within Bellatrix's knife. His gaze strayed to her soft brown eyes that bristled with intelligence. He watched brighten every time she said something that she made an important point.

"So, Harry, how's Teddy doing?" Harry didn't answer so Hermione poked him and asked again.

"Oh, he's currently staying with Kreacher," Harry answered with a bit of a sheepish look at having been caught not really paying attention. "Kreacher really loves the little guy. Andromeda's back in St. Mungo's for treatment and she'll be there for about a month." Andromeda had been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before. While magic did make the treatment far cheaper due to easier supply of medicine, it hadn't yet been able to cure it. The magical treatment still took quite a toll on the body as well.

"You've really taken to your godfather duties, Harry," Hermione said with a bright look in her eye. "Its good of you to care for him."

"It's the least I can do. I owe Remus and Tonks so much more than that." Harry had originally been terrified of taking care of Teddy, but had found both that he enjoyed it and he was indeed capable of caring for the boy. Harry had since sworn to be involved in his godson's life as he knew far too well what it was like to not know his parents. While Harry knew it wasn't Sirius' fault that he hadn't been there for Harry, his absence had hurt, and he swore he wouldn't let the same happen to Teddy. Hermione had taken it upon herself to essentially be Teddy's godmother. She absolutely adored the little tyke and Teddy adored her in return. He loved to have Hermione tell him stories about what their adventures at Hogwarts. Hermione and Harry continued chatting about Teddy and his misadventures until Harry checked his watch.

"I have to go. Have a meeting with WWW's. Another company has shown interest in distributing our products and we're meeting to go over their proposal today. I'll see you later, Hermione. It was good to talk you." Rising from his seat, he gave Hermione a hug and headed on his way.

* * *

><p>Harry entered WWW's to find it relatively quiet. It was lunchtime after all. He weaved his way through the shelves to the offices in the back. Entering, he was quite surprised at what he saw. Standing there with George, Lee and Ron was his cousin, Dudley.<p>

"Looks like my scrawny cousin has decided to show. Shall we, gentlemen?"

"Why are you here, Dudley?" Harry asked, still puzzled.

"I own DDD's Goods & Services. Started with my championship winnings from boxing. 'Sides Merry wanted me to stop getting punched in the head so much. 'Fraid I might end up as thick as you." George cracked a smile at this while Ron let out a guffaw. Harry had known Dudley had gone into business but hadn't known the name or nature of it.

"So, Dudders, what are we looking at here?" Dudley went on in detail about what the distribution deal entailed. He explained some of the ins and outs of working with a distribution company and how it would affect their business as it was. Finishing his spiel, he opened it to questions from the four others with him. Ron spoke up immediately.

"So, if I'm understanding this right, by working with you and your company we'll pay you a fee and you'll get our wares on wizarding store shelves all over Europe?"

"That's the gist of it, Ron. While your shops only carry products made by you, most other joke shops make only a small portion of their inventory themselves, if any of it all. As long as you pay me, my company will take care of all the details of selling goods in other countries."

"Sounds brilliant to me. I'd looked into this before, but we don't have the time or the personnel to do it ourselves. As it is, if this takes off, we'll have to hire some more folks just to keep with product demand." Ron had shown a keen acumen for business strategy since joining his brother and Lee. George had been overjoyed to let Ron take over the business end of things so that he could focus on the inventing.

"Anything else, gentlemen? If not, I've got several copies of the contract with me for you to look over and I'll be back at the end of the week with the representative you'll be working directly with." Nods and murmurs of agreement were seen and heard all around the table. While Dudley passed out the contracts, Harry stood and clasped Dudley's hand.

"Good show, Dudley. I've got to be going back the ministry. I'm already running a bit late." With goodbyes to Ron, George and Lee, Harry headed back to the Auror offices.

* * *

><p>The Auror offices were currently a hive of activity as several Auror teams were preparing for missions. Harry passed through the room virtually unnoticed due to both the current situation and years of practice of hiding in plain sight from reporters and their ilk. Continuing on, he ambled down the hall to his office. Seeing his office door ajar, he stopped short. He distinctively remembered closing and locking his office before leaving for his lunch with Hermione. Reaching into his belt, he retrieved his wand, briefly twirling its familiar feel in his hand.<p>

Holding out his wand in a ready manner, Harry slowly crept up to the door. He peered through the slight crack between the door and the frame, but for all of his squinting he couldn't make anything out in the darkness of his office. Pausing for a moment at the door, Harry's ears caught a rhythmic sound. Replacing his eyes with an ear at the crack he listened and was rewarded with the sound of heavy breathing. Someone or something was definitely in wait for him in his office. He crouched, readying himself for action.

"Lumos!" Harry pushed open the door and he was met with quite an unexpected sight. The chair in front of his desk was occupied by a large man seemingly bent over in sleep. Upon further inspection, Harry realized the man was bleeding severely. Lifting up the man's chin, his eyes were greeted by a familiar face.

"Rod?!"

Glancing upwards to Harry's eyes Rod Rise groaned a reply, "Hullo, Harry."

* * *

><p><strong>AN ****Yes, The Crabtree is a real restaurant/pub on the River Thames. Never been there myself, as I reside in Michigan, but I've always enjoyed it when authors make an effort to inject real locations into stories and I will try to do the same.**

**Etymology**

Kasvoton is Finnish for "Faceless"


	5. 04: Meetings & Memories

**Chapter 4: Meetings & Memories**

**July 24, 2006 **

Hermione sighed. Of course Harry would have to bring up what had happened at the Burrow. She sat at her table attempting to read but was unable to concentrate on anything but that. She couldn't deny her feelings though. She'd known how she felt for several years now. It had even been a factor as to why she and Ron had split, though she hadn't told anyone. She had realized while away at Manone University that the person she was missing the most wasn't Ron or her parents, it was Harry. It was always Harry.

But it was Harry, one of her two best friends of almost sixteen years now. And his friendship was too precious to her to lose on some girlish dream. He was the one person who had never wavered or left her alone. Even when the weight of the world was weighing down on him during the horcrux hunt and Ron had left, Harry never stopped being there for her. It was the first time that Hermione had really thought about her feelings for him. But Ron had then returned and things spiraled out of control so quickly in the time leading to the battle at Hogwarts. She'd not really been able to think about it again until she was in Australia with her parents away from both her boys. And then Harry had shown up to support her yet again, though she was well aware that it was also to hide from wizarding Britain for a while. He had stayed with her and her parents until the new Hogwarts' term was bound to start and they both returned to finish school.

During that time, Ron had intermittently showed up for a few days here and there, though she could see that he didn't really understand Harry's desire to hide from the spotlight. Ron had taken full advantage of the trio's fame and had enjoyed it immensely at the time. After a few debacles with the Daily Prophet over the next few months after Voldemort's fall, Ron began to see Harry's point of view.

Hermione gave up on her book and began to take stock of what her love life had been throughout the last few years. After splitting with Ron, she had entertained quite a crush on a certain instructor at Manone, Rod Rise. As an instructor he was firm, but not uncaring, easygoing, but not a pushover and helpful, but not indulgent. Hermione hadn't been entirely sure what to expect from his training courses, but she had certainly expected a much more structured course than Rod's. He tended to just go with the flow of what the students wanted to do, which were often topics outside of the course syllabus. He had a rough sort of charm, was quick with a joke or retort, quite handsome and well muscled. The fact that he was a physical instructor and therefore dressed the part certainly hadn't helped her crush.

She also had inadvertently learned that Rod had an incredible ability to read other people. He had sussed out her crush, and invited her out for dinner and had proceeded to explain that he didn't date students and wasn't looking for anyone anyways. She had been quite astounded and somewhat embarrassed that he had found her out, but afterwards he never treated her any differently after other than striking up a friendship with her.

She'd dated a Canadian student at Manone for a short while the next term, but had broken things off after hearing him brag to his friends about how he was "going to nail the pretty British witch". She had told Rod about the incident, and had noticed that afterwards the boy gave her a wide berth. She had asked Rod about it, but he simply gave her an aloof grin for an answer. After that, she had sworn off dating while at Manone and focused on her studies. She had excelled and completed masteries in ancient runes, arithmancy, charms, potions and transfiguration.

Since returning to Britain she had had a grand total of two relationships. There'd been a brief relationship with one Oliver Wood, but that had fizzled out quickly. After taking up her position as an unspeakable she had been quite busy with that and it had kept her mind off relationships. She greatly enjoyed her work and had embraced it wholeheartedly.

Then she'd started researching those damned Spells of Olympus. Almost all of the information she'd been able to uncover was either legend written in languages long dead or mere rumors. The spells themselves were rumored to be some of the most powerful ever created, though what they did and how to cast them had been lost to time. There were rumors of a spell that caused an explosion of fire so vast it could wipe out a city, another that could heal any and all wounds instantly, an impenetrable unbreakable shield and still others.

She had made precious little headway other than discovering that the incantation for the firebomb spell, as she called it, was Prometheus (fitting really). And then she'd been kidnapped just after stepping out of the ministry. She still had no idea how exactly she'd been captured, other than she had heard a whispered _Stupefy_ from behind her. She had awoken in a cell with a man in silver mask standing over her.

* * *

><p><strong>August 8, 2003<strong>

_I awoke inside a dingy storeroom. Long out of use cabinets lined the wall near the relatively new looking cot I lay on. I attempted to sit up but found that I was chained directly to the bed. I turned my head to see a figure standing over me. My captor had a mask that was a simple oval shape with no features other than holes for the eyes and mouth. The holes were completely blackened in shadow even though a light was shining directly onto the mask. _

_"Ah, Hermione Granger. So good of you to join us. I trust you are well?" he asked. His voice was somewhat garbled as though it were going through a muggle voice changer._

_"W-Who are you?" I asked in return. He tilted his head as if appraising me before answering._

_"Just a messenger from someone who admires your work. My name is of no consequence. Now, I have some questions for you. What do you know of the spells of Olympus?" I stared the man down, refusing to answer. SMACK. My cheek exploded with pain, but I would not give in to this man. He stared me down, and growled "I'll be back." He stood and left, slamming the steel door behind him._

**August 14, 2003**

_It had been two days since I'd seen another human being. My food was levitated into the room through a solid steel door, and my interrogator hadn't returned since the last time. He had muttered that he was "going to have to get him to come and get it out of her himself". Since my second interrogation, I had been allowed to move from the cot. From the cabinets I managed to suss out that I was being held in an abandoned postal office. However, without a way to contact anyone, this knowledge was pretty much useless._

_I heard footsteps outside my door, then a key going into the latch. I composed myself and glared at the door. My interrogator stepped through followed by another person. The newcomer stood a head taller and wore the same black robes I'd seen on the scant few people I had seen during my time here. He bore a white sash over the robes that I hadn't seen on others, probably a mark of office of some kind. He wore a silver mask, but his was different from the others. Intricate white line patterns covered the entirety of the mask, giving it the illusion of movement. The eyes were at a slant rather than the round holes of the others. His mask stared directly into my eyes._

_"Ah, Hermione Granger. Legilimens." And he was in my mind. As an unspeakable I'd been trained in occlumency by ministry Legilimens, but their attacks had been nothing like this. I desperately threw up my shields but to no avail. His presence was everywhere at once, and he broke through my weak spots in seconds. My memories were his to sift through. The first one that he paused at was of when I had first learned that Hogwarts existed. I had been so excited to learn that there was really something different about me and there was a special school just for those like me. He flipped through a multitude of memories of Hogwarts, occasionally stopping when something caught his fascination. I was sickened as everything that made me who I was, was laid bare for this man's perusal. I struggled to raise my shields back up, but he battered them back down without mercy._

**_Add in a few other memories..._**

_And then, he found what he was looking for, my research on the Spells of Olympus. He eagerly flipped through all of my recent memories of them. Seemingly satisfied with what he found, he exited my mind. I collapsed onto my cot, pulling my knees to my chest. I struggled to keep my tears and sobs from coming, I refused to let them see me broken. The man reached and tipped my head to face him._

_"You have such a lovely mind, Miss Granger. I'll enjoy getting to look at it more, but for now I have what I need. Though I do find it quite interesting that you don't even know the significance of your knowledge. You know so much more than you realize." I was too horrified to understand the implications of what he said, I couldn't stand for someone to open me up like that again. All my life, my mind had been my one safe haven, and that had been completely stripped away from me. __I'm not sure how long I lay there afterwards. It could have been minutes or hours, I wasn't sure of anything in my dazed state. I tried desperately to not cry, but the tears and sobs came unbidden. My fortress that was my mind had been completely violated. I was so wrapped up in my shame, that I almost didn't hear the commotion outside my room._

_"Who the fuck are y-" The shout turned into a scream of pain followed by a hollow thud. I heard spellfire, shouts, screams, and what even sounded like gunshots. There was also an unnerving bestial growling sound as well. __My cell door crashed inward, the force of which knocked the torch in my cell out of its sconce and it promptly went out. I heard heavy breathing that sounded animal-like in nature. There was slight light that revealed an outline, but not enough to determine what it was, other than it was large. I saw a flash of yellowed eyes, and then it was gone._

_I sat staring at my open cell door. After ten minutes of silence, I finally gathered enough nerve to creep out into the hall and nearly tripped over what I thought was a piece of rubble. Picking it up, I screamed and nearly retched. It was the severed head of my cell guard. His mangled body lay against the wall. I dropped his head and scurried down the corridor, desperate to get away from the violent scene only to stumble upon even greater carnage. This time I did vomit._

_The floor was slick with blood, and the walls looked like a sick and twisted finger painting. There were at least seven bodies, not a single one laying in a natural way. Limbs were broken or torn off, one man's head was facing backwards after his neck had been broken and another had his throat torn out of his neck. Whimpering, I wiped my mouth and began creeping through the room towards the door. I slipped on the blood and fell directly onto a body whose cavity had been sliced open. I scampered away on all fours from the mess of organs only to slip again and hit my head against the floor. I've no idea how long I lay there, not quite unconscious, but unable to move._

_"I found her! She's here. Get a mediwizard in here now!" I heard the shouting and managed to raise my head to see who it was. It was Harry. As he reached me, I slipped into unconsciousness._

* * *

><p>Shuddering at the memory of the carnage that had surrounded her, she thought of the aftermath. She had been rushed to St. Mungo's for treatment of her concussion. After waking, she had found Harry and Ron by her bedside. Both were ecstatic that she had been found and that she was okay. Harry had originally been terrified that the blood covering her had been her own. Harry had handed her wand and then explained that he'd received an anonymous owl that said she could be found at an abandoned post office in Notting Hill. He had assembled a team and they had arrived as fast as they could.<p>

After that incident she had closed herself off from most others, including Harry. Harry had noticed something was amiss, but refrained from asking right away. A week later, he had asked her what had happened, and she lied. She told him everything except about the Legilimency attack. He saw that she wasn't telling the truth, but didn't push. Instead he had pulled into a hug, and she'd broken down, sobbing into his arms and then proceeded to spill the whole story. She'd been able to open herself up to others some since, but the assault continued to weigh heavily on her mind.

The aurors had been unable to trace any of the bodies found to any singular group. Some had even been from rival criminal organizations. Nor had they found any leads as to who had slaughtered all of them, though the nature of their death's suggested either an animagus or a werewolf (though it hadn't been a full moon that night). That explanation didn't cover why whatever it was didn't attack her. The man who had violated her mind must have left before the thing attacked, as his body wasn't found among the others. Not knowing where he was had left her quite unnerved and she had stayed at Grimmauld Place with Harry for the next several months before moving back to her home next door to her parents.

Late last year, she had begun seeing a ministry worker by the name of Brandon Mentior. He worked with the Improper Use of Magic Office as an investigator. They had met when her expertise had been asked for to look at a charmed piece of jewelry. It was a necklace that had strong compulsion charms that caused the wearer to commit suicide, essentially a perfect murder weapon. The necklace was an heirloom of a rich muggle lord and it was desired that the necklace be returned intact, though as far the muggles knew the necklace was simply being held in an evidence locker for the time being. She had managed to break the charms without harming the necklace. Brandon had then asked her to lunch and they began dating shortly after.

They had dated for about three months when Brandon had been offered a position working with the International Confederation of Wizards, which he gladly accepted. The new job took him out of the country often and eventually led to them breaking up, though fairly amicably.

And then in the last month, feelings for Harry that she'd though long dead had come roaring back to life. Of course during first year she had a bit of crush on him, but who wouldn't for a boy who had jumped onto a troll for you. Her crush had faded as she became his friend, not revisiting any romantic feelings again until the horcrux hunt. And then there'd been this weekend at the Burrow. She wasn't sure if she wanted to thank Ron or curse him into oblivion for his interruption. It'd been the first sign she'd seen that maybe Harry cared for her as more than a friend, but they'd been interrupted before things got any farther.

Sighing, Hermione closed her book and gathered her things. Having successfully placed everything back into her handbag, she took notice of a small card sitting where Harry had been earlier. She picked it up, and upon giving a quick perusal, she saw that it was Harry's Gringotts card. Hermione glanced at her watch and saw that the time was quarter to one, which would allow her plenty of time to make a quick detour to Harry's office to return his bank card.

Leaving The Crabtree, she made a turn down a nearby alley and proceeded to apparate to the ministry. Entering the building she passed by the security booth giving the on duty guard, Mikel, a polite hello. She stepped aboard an empty lift and set her destination for level two, Auror headquarters. The lift set off and soon announced its arrival. Hermione disembarked, while other witches and wizards stepped aboard the lift.

Hermione walked through the busy central Auror office making her way to Harry's hall. She took a quick glance down at her watch, and in doing so, she failed to see Draco Malfoy right in front her.

"Oof!" The pair fell down on the floor in a minor tangle of limbs with Hermione on top. "I'm sorry, I guess I just didn't s-"

"Save it, Granger. Would you mind just getting off of me?" Draco requested. It wasn't that long ago that such an incident would be the cause of major confrontation between the two. Once distancing himself from his family and the other death eaters, Draco had become quite a different man. While she wouldn't call him her friend, he certainly wasn't an enemy anymore. Hermione got up, and extending her hand, helped Draco to his feet. "I've got to get going. Thomas, Creevey, and I are going to attempt hunting down Ricred the Red or at least news of his existence. See you around, Granger." Draco gave a curt nod and walked on towards the lifts.

Taking a moment to briefly collect herself, Hermione continued on her way to Harry's office. As she came up to the door, she heard raised voices, one which she recognized as Harry's and another that sounded familiar to her, though she couldn't quite place it.

"Just what the bloody hell are you doing here? You should be at St. Mungo's or some other hospital," she heard Harry yell.

"No, I can't chance that," the other voice responded raspily. Hermione approached the door and knocked. "Oh, shit!" the familiar voice swore. There was some brief shuffling, then Harry cracked open the door and poked his head out.

"Oh hello, Hermione," he greeted her. "What are you doing here?"

"You left your Gringotts card at the bistro and so I figured I'd return it to you," she explained as she handed him the card. Hermione heard a thud from inside the room. "Who's here with you?"

"Uhhh…."

"It's alright, just let her in and close that fuggin' door," the other voice filled in for Harry. Harry stepped aside allowing Hermione access to his office. Amidst the clutter she a familiar, albeit heavily bruised and bleeding, form.

"Rod? What happened to you? And why aren't you at St. Mungo's? And how the hell did you get in here?" she swore uncharacteristically. "Come on, we're leaving this instant!" She moved to help the battered man up, but he weakly lifted a hand and interrupted her.

"Suffice to say, I won't be safe at St. Mungo's. I'm in need of a place and someone to…" he was interrupted by a coughing fit which resulted in some coughed up blood. He wiped his face with his sleeve and continued. "To be brief, I need me a healer and a bed."

"I can put you up at Grimmauld though I don't understand why St. Mungo's isn't safe." Harry gave a brief glance to Hermione, who nodded. "Hermione's got a healer's license so she can get you settled and on your way to healing. Let's get you out of here." Rod attempted to stand, but his legs gave out and the big man hit the floor hard. Even between Harry and Hermione there was a lot of weight to be carried. The two tucked themselves under either arm and lifted Rod off the floor. "We'll use the floo here in my office."

The trio slowly made their way to the fireplace. Grabbing some floo powder and naming Grimmauld Place as their destination they disappeared within the green flames and reappeared out of the fireplace at Grimmauld. Hermione stumbled, losing her grip on Rod who slammed to the floor and let out a groan.

"Why don't we levitate him from here on out? I mean we do have magic," Hermione groaned out as well from her position on the floor.

"Harry and Miss Hermione, what are you doing here at this time?" Kreacher's bullfrog voice questioned. "And who's this fellow?"

"This fellow here is Rod Rise, he's going to be in need of a room. Kreacher would you mind preparing one of the guest rooms? Oh, and where's Teddy at right now?"

"Not at all, Harry, especially since it is already done. Teddy is taking a nap, thankfully. Here let me help with him." With a wave of Kreacher's hand Rod's form lifted off the floor and levitated following Kreacher up the stairs to one of the guest rooms with Harry and Hermione following. Entering the room, Kreacher placed Rod in the bed. "Anything else, Si- …err, Harry?"

"If you could find some bandages and any other medical supplies it would be greatly appreciated, Kreacher." Hermione politely asked. Kreacher disappeared with a pop to go collect the requested items. Hermione rolled up her sleeves and began casting various diagnosis charms on Rod's battered frame. From her results it seemed that Rod had 23 broken bones, 2 of those completely shattered and multiple lacerations and bruises covering his body. It was a miracle that the man had been able to get to Harry's office, though how he accomplished that was a question in itself.

"What happened to you, Rod?" Hermione questioned, puzzled at what could have caused this damage.

"You know me, picked a fuggin' fight with bad odds," Rod groaned in response.

"What kinda odds are we talking about here?" Hermione asked.

"'Bout fifteen to one," was Rod's reply. Hermione's eyes widened slightly with understanding. No wonder he was in such bad shape. "Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna pass the fuck out." And he did.

* * *

><p>"That should keep him for now. He'll need to have some things checked over and he needs to rest,," Hermione had just finished up doing multiple healing charms and several bracings for Rod's broken bones. Rod was currently asleep under the influence of a sleeping potion. "I'll need to go get several potions that he'll be needing over the next few days from Diagon Alley later today. But..." Hermione briefly interrupted herself by collapsing onto a couch in Grimmauld's sitting room. "But I think I'm going to take a page from Rod's book and pass out on your couch." Healing spells required a great deal of energy particularly for injuries to the extent that Rod had acquired. "Just what do you think he was doing taking on fifteen others at one time? Does he think he's invincible?"<p>

"He's damn well close. The first time I ever saw him he was in the middle of performing a feat that I thought was impossible." Harry replied to Hermione's questions.

"Oh, really? And what was this feat?" Harry plopped himself down at the end of the couch with Hermione's head laying slightly against him.

"Well, this happened back when the Ridgebacks and I trained at the Emrys Institute. This was our first day there…."

* * *

><p><strong>Feb. 14, 2003<strong>

_I and the rest of the Ridgebacks, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, Draco Malfoy and Michael Corner had been invited to train at the Emrys Institute. To attend the Emrys Institute was a great honor as they selected the few who attended entirely themselves. There were no applications or even recommendations, they would simply contact you if they wanted you there. No one had ever been known to have turned down the invitation to train there. We would be one of few groups who would be trained as an entire team rather than as individuals._

_We were sent a portkey in the shape of a miniature castle and instructions on when to use it. We were in mutual agreement to attend and after informing the Head Auror, Raynard Williamson, he happily agreed to our attending. Using the portkey as instructed we found ourselves at the doorstep of an ancient looking castle in the midst of a forest. Vines and other plants grew untamed all around and on the castle. For all of its look of abandonment, the castle was in perfect structural condition. Not a single stone was out of place. We entered through a massive wrought iron gate and entered a courtyard. The courtyard was abandoned, but we could hear a commotion off to our left through one of the gates. Deciding to investigate we headed through the gate._

_The sight that caught my eyes was one I'll never forget. In the middle of the courtyard a large group of people were surrounding a fight ring of sorts. Within this ring was a single large man and graphorn. Though the man was large, the graphorn was easily four times his size. Light was gleaming off the graphorn's two golden horns. As I watched, the graphorn let out a roar and charged the man who dodged effortlessly to the side of the graphorn's charge. I then noticed that the man was carrying only one weapon and it wasn't even a wand, his sole weapon was a large knife in his hands. The graphorn charged again, but this time the man caught a hold of its horns and pulled himself up onto its shoulders. Giving a quick turn, he plunged his knife down into the skull of the graphorn beneath him. The graphorn let out a guttural howl of pain, stumbled and ultimately collapsed. The man seemed unfazed by the collapse and pulled his knife loose and jumped back down._

_At this the crowd around erupted into applause and shouts. The man gave a quick faux-salute and climbed out of the ring. Later on, I would be introduced. The man was Rod Rise._

* * *

><p>"I'll never forget seeing him take down the graphorn as though it were nothing. One knife stroke was all it took." Harry recalled.<p>

"From what I know of graphorns, a blow to its head shouldn't be fatal since it doesn't have a true central nervous system." Hermione gazed up at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"That is true, though I didn't know it at the time. Rod told me later that essentially all he did was knock the creature unconscious. A blow to the head like that will render a graphorn unconscious for almost a day."

"Oh, I guess I didn't know that." At her words, Harry let out a fake gasp and gripped his chest.

"Hermione Granger not know something? Be still my heart," Harry teased.

"Oh shut it, prat," Hermione responded while swatting at his hands. They both shared a good laugh together and for a moment all was back to normal. Recovering, Hermione bore a serious look on her face. "What are you going to do about Rod? At the moment, we don't even know exactly why he's here. I've never known St. Mungo's to be unsafe other than when Voldemort took over the ministry. And how did he even get into your office in his condition anyways?"

"I'm not sure. For now if you can check up on him every day it should be enough. I'm definitely going to talk to him soon to figure out why exactly he's in this bad of shape and how he bypassed security to get into the Ministry. It doesn't bode well, that's for sure." Harry leaned back into the couch, letting his thoughts run free for a moment. "Let's just hope this isn't a precursor to another gang war like the last time Rod was here." Hermione nodded, remembering the violence that had outbroken when Ricred the Red's and Pembroke Lloyd's feud had run hot. Several aurors had been killed and many others were injured during that time, including Ron.

"Let's hope things remain peaceful for now," Hermione nodded in agreement, not realizing just how much her hope for peace would be dashed by the coming storm.

* * *

><p><strong>July 24, 2006<strong>

**Nighttime on the Welsh countryside**

A single robed figure arrived with the accompanying crack of apparition into a grove of trees. Glancing around him and seeing nothing, he continued on his way. He was invariably wrong. As he disappeared from sight, another figure made quick to follow him. Darkness enveloped the forest as a thin sliver was all that was visible of the moon. Coupled with an overcast sky, the darkness was nearly impenetrable. The first man walked to a small clearing among the trees, the second following a safe distance behind. The first figure stepped into the glade, to join ten other hooded figures. One was without a hood and he began to speak.

"Now that we are all gathered here, who would like to inform me why this man, Rod has not been killed or captured?" questioned the aged man. From what could be seen he had long flowing white hair with an equally long flowing beard. The rest of his features were obscured by the darkness.

No one made a move to answer the question. The man looked from hood to hood, but still no answers came.

"He's only one man, how difficult can it be? Admittedly, he has been defying us for over a decade now. Tonight, his efforts were supposed to have been put to an end. If no one is willing to accept blame, then so be it." Nodding at the last figure to enter, "Now you have information about his whereabouts?"

"Yes, sir, I do. Rod was last seen at the British Ministry offices in the Auror department. Where he went from there no one is certain. St. Mungo's was searched by eye as he would undoubtedly use a false name and he was not found. As to where he is now, we have no idea. He is known to have many contacts in the London area so he may have found sanctuary with one of them."

"Do we know who these contacts are?" In response another robed figure stepped forward to answer.

"His uncle and others in the Auror department including Harry Potter, sir," the man said. "And that mudblood bitch of his, Hermione Granger. We should have no problem taking her, she's just a mudblood after all."

"Silence!" The bearded man roared. "I will not suffer such stupidity from my chosen. Yes, we have had the woman in our clutches before, but she got away from you in case you've already forgotten." He glared at the offending man. With a quiet malice he said, "You are not worth your station." With that, the bearded man pulled out a wand and with a motion, levitated the other man.

"Master, I-" the man's voice was cut off by a silencing spell from the bearded man.

"Observe, as this is what happens to those who think highly of themselves purely due to circumstance of birth. Chantal thought herself special simply because she was of my bloodline, and thought she knew what to do better than I and you are all quite aware of how that ended. Your blood does not make you powerful, your given abilities and how you use them give you power." With more motions of his wand, fire and electricity began to cage the levitating man, who was screaming soundlessly. Wind was howling into the clearing from all directions, the trees groaning under the force of the gale. "I do not care what petty prejudices you hold, unless you let them blind you to reality, like this fool here. One would do well to remember that." With that, the ropes of lightning and fire collapsed into a tight ball, incinerating the floating man and leaving nothing but ash. The howling winds ceased, leaving a neat pile of ashes on the ground. With a circular wave of the old man's hand, the ashes arranged themselves into a neat perfect circle.

"Con·gair mé in do·rumalt óainimm, donnach ó aislinge, ocus gataige ó bethu." The words were spoken with a guttural edge. The ashes stirred, being blown around within the confines of the circle, though climbing to a height of roughly ten feet. Smoke was billowing from the ashes even thought a moment ago they had been perfectly cool.

"Cuccum, techtaire ó dubae. Cuccum." The ashes suddenly ignited with flames of blood red that burned bright for a few seconds before suddenly going out. With the flame's death, the stars seemed to dim, and pure darkness covered the clearing. A hiss was heard, followed by a sudden drop in temperature that saw the grass being covered with frost. A feeling of dread and malice crept over the glade. The shadows cleared to reveal the unmistakable billowing form of a dementor. It lowered its hood to reveal eyes that burned like fire and a gaping hole of a mouth that seemed to exude blackness. And then it spoke.

"Lamaid cía con·gairther co in doénda domun?" It's voice was like listening to the voice of death itself.

"Do coimsid ainimm póc." the man replied.

"Ia. Ad·cím tú. Coimsid, cíabat do forngaire?"

"Do·ecmalla do clann. Glésaid ar cocad."

"Beimmi for·fen ed."

With that the dementor returned to the ashes that had formed it. The elder man turned to face the others.

"We will proceed as planned. All of you know your orders. Let it begin." With that, the others bowed and apparated away, with the old man following. Deep in the shadows of the trees, another hooded figure lurked. "Interesting," was his sole statement and with that he apparated away.

**A/N The incantation used is in Old Irish (also called Old Gaelic). It's not perfect as I have a quite limited understanding of Old Irish grammar practices (lots of odd conjugation for an English speaker). Also, I know that dementors don't have eyes, but this one is unique for reasons that shall be revealed later. **

_**"******Con·gair m****é in do·rumalt ****ó****ainimm, donnach **************ó aislinge, ocus gataige ****************************ó bethu."**********************************************************_

****I summon the consumer of souls, thief of dreams, and the stealer of life.****

_****"Cuccum, techtaire ó dubae. Cuccum."****_

****To me, bringer of sorrow. To me.****

_****"Lamaid cía con·gairther co in doénda domun?" ****_

**"Who dares summon me to the mortal world?"**

_**"Do coimsid ainimm póc."**_

**"Your lord, soul kisser."**

**_**"**Ia. Ad·cím tú. Coimsid, cíabat do forngaire?**"**_**

****"**Yes. I see it is you. Master, what is your command?"******

_**"**Do·ecmalla do clann. Glésaid ar cocad.**"**_

**"Gather your children. Prepare them for war."**

**_**"**Beimmi for·fen ed.**"**_**

****"It shall be done."****


End file.
